In The Still of the Night
by 1Pagan3
Summary: Severely AU! John and Dean are trying to find the answers to their parents death while fighting to protect their little brother Sammy from the very thing that tore their family apart.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Ok, this will be one story that I'll continue if people want me to, if not say so also that way I'll know. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kripke's creations or that of the CW... however if any of these entities would like to share, I'm available! ;)

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The rain that was pouring down upon them was ignored, along with the many well wishers who continually walked by. No one wanted to stay, but no one wanted to go; it was one of those confusing situations that made everyone wonder what was the etiquette for a funeral of a couple who died under mysterious circumstances while their two youngest children watched in the background.

John Winchester was now the eldest of their clan and that did not set well with him. Less than a week ago he was worrying about how he was going to keep up with his partying friends and his classes while at Texas A and M, and now he was having to worry about funeral arrangements, and doctors appointments for his little brothers Dean and Sammy. It never ceased to amaze him how fast something could change, and he would have thought that nothing could shock him anymore; not after what he and his family had witnessed throughout the years.

Pulling himself out of a whole other avenue of depressive thoughts, he put his hand on Dean's shoulder signaling that it was time to go. It took a moment before his little brother acknowledged his presence, but when he did the fire flashed quickly in his eyes making John wonder not for the first time exactly what had happened to Mom and Dad. Trying hard not to lose his patience, he tried a slight smile towards his brother and hoped that it would help whatever pain Dean was experiencing at the moment. The doctors had said that the only person he would have an actual civil conversation with was their baby brother Sammy, but to anyone else it was short hostile answers that often involved curse words.

Walking a few more steps he stopped behind the huddled figure in front of the fresh graves. His littlest brother Sammy was only ten years old but already looked so broken. No one had heard him say a word, not even when they knew he was in the midst of a nightmare. The doctor's had all agreed that it was due to the trauma of seeing their parents brutally murdered, that it was a coping mechanism. John let the quacks have their moment, but he suspected something else was at work and it wasn't just the everyday normal kind of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Bending down, he picked up his brother and held him closely, feeling the shivers that were already coursing through the small body. "C'mon kiddo, lets get you and our brother home before you both come down with pneumonia."

Dean watched dispassionately at the scene unfolding in front of him and finally had enough. "No! You go back to school where you obviously want to be. Leave Sammy and me alone!" he yelled standing in front of John, his once hero was now just someone else that wanted something.

John had no idea what to do. He needed to get them out of the November rain, but he could also tell that Dean was itching for a fight. Looking down at his baby brother, he saw the question in those large eyes and knew that he had a choice to make; stay or go. Either he stayed and fought for his family, or left and hoped that the system could find some obscure relative or maybe a family friend who'd take care of them like they deserved.

"_So son, have you sent in the paperwork yet?" Max asked his oldest child with a smile._

_John almost bashed his head on the hood he was under before gaining some sense of control and looked at his dad. "What?" he stammered out, trying hard to think of a way out of this particular conversation. "uh…"_

_Max laughed before he reached into his toolbox. "You know, if it wasn't for your mother you would have missed the deadline by a mile. Here… I believe this is yours."_

_Stunned, John looked at the envelope held in his dad's hand and wondered how he could have ever thought that they wouldn't make sure the application got in the mail. "Look, dad… I don't know if I want to go. In fact, I know I don't… it was just a 'what if…' kind of thing you know?"_

"_John don't bullshit me, boy. We've been talking about college since you started to talk. It's nothing to be ashamed of, in fact it's something to be proud of; and we are son… we are."_

_Looking at his father, the man who had done so much in his life, his hero, he knew that what was in his hands wasn't something to back away from but something to embrace. "What about Dean and Sammy? You know how those two get, what if they think I'm leaving for good?" he asked, suddenly realizing that he'd finally put a name to what had been bothering him._

"_Son, those two boys think the world of you; there's no way they'll think you're leaving us for good. There are school breaks, holidays and even the summer if you want to join in a hunt or two. Don't worry so much, you'll get grey hairs like your old man."_

Dad had wanted him to go to college and he had, now he was watching his brothers look at him like he was a stranger and he didn't like it. "Alright, we're going home and getting dried off, then we're going to talk about this." It took everything he had to ignore Sammy's insistent shaking of his head, the only communication he would allow. Whatever happened out there had scared Sammy bad and made Dean wish that his eldest brother had never been born.

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Dean hated the idea that his big brother was back, as if his presence would fix anything. They just buried their mom and dad, Sammy was still silent as a monk and all John could think of was to take them home. Well isn't that the most brilliant thing anyone could have thought of? If he really had wanted to do something, he wouldn't have left them like he had, or maybe would have made sure to keep up with what was going on at home. Sure his brother was eighteen, but big deal; he still had a family that needed him, and he didn't think twice about turning his back on them.

Seeing John head towards the Impala, and wasn't that so wrong for anyone but Mom or Dad to drive it, he rushed around and took Sammy before rushing the rest of the way to the car. He knew better than anyone what his baby brother needed right now, and it wasn't a hot bowl of chicken soup; it was to feel safe and warm again. Ever since that night, Sammy hadn't stopped shaking; the only difference was the degree of shaking that would occur. Nightmares would have the whole bed trembling while insecure feelings had Sammy shaking slightly and only noticeable if you were looking for it. Dean knew that whatever Sammy had experienced had him so scared he couldn't talk about it or anything else. He just wished he knew what had happened, but he had no damn idea.

"_Alright you two, stay close to the car. If anything unexpected happens, you know what to do." Josie said firmly. She might be one of those understanding mom's at home, but when there was a job to do she was all business._

_Nodding, both Dean and Sammy knew what needed to be done. Right now though their job was to make sure that the vengeful spirit they were hunting wouldn't double back before the banishing spell was completed. If something went wrong though, they were to get in the car and Dean would get them to safety. Feeling secure in the knowledge that they knew the plan, they both made sure their shotguns were loaded and they started scoping the area._

_They had estimated the spell would take less than half an hour if the preparations ran longer than normal, but it had been closer to forty by the time Dean heard the first scream. He looked at Sammy who knew instantly who it was and immediately started to tear up. It only took another few moments before another agonizing scream echoed through the forest leaving Dean's blood cold._

"_Dad!" he yelled and started towards the treeline only to be intercepted by a smaller version of their dad. "MOM!"_

"_Dean, we have to get help! Please Dean, we have to…"_

_Dean knew Sammy was right, it was the plan that their parents had drilled into them, safety first; and there was no way that they would be able to take down whatever it was that ripped their family apart, whatever it was, it was more than a vengeful spirit._

_Nodding, Dean grabbed Sammy's shoulder and started to guide him towards the car when the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Daring to turn slightly, he saw a shadow coming out of the trees and then he was flying in the air before hitting the packed ground harder than he thought possible. When he woke he was in the hospital on the pediatric floor with doctors and nurses trying to find out what happened, and he had no idea what to tell them. In fact he had no idea what had really happened and their questions asked in different ways but never changing made him angrier than he'd been in a long time. It wasn't until he saw Sammy in another room crouched in a corner with wide frightened eyes that everything hit home. Their parent's were dead and whatever did it to them, Sammy had seen and now couldn't bring himself to talk about it._

He heard John grumble something about it not being his fault, but he ignored him; this wasn't the time for a pity party. Right now they had to figure out what was going to happen next because it didn't look good. Dean knew more about the family finances than what he'd let on, and once his big brother saw what had been going on the last several months then it would be a real deciding factor about which direction they were going. Dad had re-mortgaged the house to put John in college but had failed to increase the life insurance policies at the same time. There might be enough to pay the funeral expenses and the house, but there wouldn't be anything left over which would leave the question of how they would live. Of course there was still the question of where they'd live anyway. Would big brother quit school, or would he give his little brothers up so he could do what he wanted with his life?

Feeling Sammy's trembling increase, he knew his little brother had fallen asleep and he could tell they all were in for a rough night.

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AN: Does it stay or does it go??


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I hope you all enjoy this one although there isn't a bunch of action in it... that'll come later. Take care!

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_Maxwell Winchester and Josephine Taylor were married in June 1967 less than a month after Max returned home from Vietnam. After taking the money he had saved while in the Marines and putting a sizeable down payment on a little house across the street from a park and within walking distance to one of the neighborhood schools, they walked two miles to the local Chevrolet dealership and drove away in a brand new Impala. It was something they both had wanted, and neither could say no to the other. So the small indistinct house and the shiny black car were the two possessions that that Winchester's started to build their family with. Eight years later after working for a couple of garages during the week and hunting nightmarish things on the weekends and evenings, Max was let in on a little secret by Josie; seven and a half months later Jonathan Winchester was born. Four years later another son, this time Dean, came into the world allowing history to repeat itself once more with the arrival of Samuel four years after that. _

_The house itself was a small two bedroom home that was usually filled with kids of all ages and it was never a surprise to find a parent knocking on the door to see if their child was planning on returning home – ever. Max and Josie never really cared about material things but always made sure their boys had decent clean clothes, good food on the table and plenty of excitement to keep them sharp. The neighborhood kids thought the Winchester's were awesome with some of the items that were nightmarishly cool quietly displayed in their home, while the neighbors tried not to think about them at all. They had a good life with laughter and love and none of them thought to ask if maybe it was a little too perfect._

_Little Sammy had only been in school for a week – a week! And he was already starting to freak the teachers out. There had been talk of bringing in a counselor to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with the kindergartener, but what really had them all in a fit was the fact the child wouldn't back down from what he was saying. The pictures he drew in class was bad enough, but the stories he told were beyond frightening and a lot of the other children refused to play with him. Finally getting wind of what was going on; Max and Josie took their baby boy to the side and asked about his drawings and stories only to be shocked when their little boy admitted that he dreamt them. Knowing that this was serious, they immediately took Sammy to a friend of theirs where she simply looked at them as if they were crazy and said, "Well of course that precious boy is psychic, didn't you know?"_

_Although life didn't really change in the Winchester household, it definitely became more interesting. When the boys weren't in school they were helping their parents help other people; everyone had their part. John had started hunting several years previous, while Dean would research and Sammy would help pack everything that the family would need to take care of whatever entity was out there. The only difference was, a lot of times Sammy could tell them if they were on the right track keeping the number of mistakes down to a minimum. The older boys had always taken great care of their baby brother, but after finding out how special he really was they doubled their efforts to make sure he was safe; they all knew that someone coming into their gifts that early would eventually catch the eye of something that they normally hunted. So, life continued with hunts, school, PTA meetings, part time and even some full time work and everything seemed to work in a smooth manner. Unfortunately, the universe often does not like a smooth path, often it likes to shake things up with just enough chaos to remind us what we had in the first place shouldn't be taken for granted._

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John watched Sammy sleep but knew that it wasn't peaceful; he hadn't been gone so long not to be able to tell the signs of a nightmare moving in. As he watched, he could see the trembling increase and knew that it was only the beginning. Dean had warned him not to wake him suddenly since it only increased their baby's fear of whatever it was he was seeing, so now he waited and prayed that whatever it was wouldn't be so horrible, wouldn't traumatize his brother even more.

Taking a moment to look around the room he noticed that only a few things had changed. A new soccer trophy was prominently displayed on the dresser showing that Sammy might be small, but he was quick. An Honor Roll certificate hung on the wall by the door with a Second Place red ribbon tacked to the corner telling him that Dean was more proud of his accomplishments than what he wanted to let on. What got his attention the most though was the leather bound book on the bedside table which he couldn't remember seeing before. As he reached for it though he heard a distinct growl coming from the doorway making him turn suddenly as if burned.

"Get away from that, it's Sammy's!" Dean grounded out from clenched teeth as he walked in with a glass of juice and a bottle of medicine.

"Ok, I'll leave it alone. You going to tell me what it is though?" John asked, wondering what was so important that his little brother was willing to go a couple of rounds with him about it.

Dean looked between his big brother and his baby brother before deciding he'd allow this question to be asked, after all if John didn't know what it was then he'd continue to snoop. "It's a journal of Sammy's visions. Mom and Dad bought it for him after you left and wanted him to start keeping track of them. They thought it would help him focus more on them instead of missing you. Now though he's just been drawing what he sees instead of writing."

Shocked, John sat there and let the new information sink in. His parents kept a hunting journal that they used to keep information about the creatures they encountered, and it was something that they often went back to when new or outdated information was brought to their attention. It never occurred to him that they should have been doing the same for Sammy.

"Has he… I mean, did he…"

"Every time he woke from a nightmare he'd write what he saw, and in the morning we'd sit down and talk about it. It used to drive me nuts being woke up a couple times a night, with the lamp on and Sammy writing furiously in the damn thing; now I just wish he'd do something besides…"

The conversation was quickly cut short when Sammy bolted straight up out of bed with wild eyes trying to pull in more air for his distressed lungs. Although no sound came out of him, the sweat that soaked his dark curls was more than enough proof that whatever he saw had truly terrified him. What concerned his brothers the most however wasn't the issue of the nightmare itself, but the fact that he suddenly scrambled into Dean's lap as if he was three again, and hung on for dear life.

"Hey Sammy, it's ok buddy. Hey, look at me…" Dean started while holding out the juice and bottle to John. Having his hands free allowed him to pull his little brother further into his lap and stroke the damp hair while continuously rocking Sammy until his tremors eased. Pulling back just enough to look into his brother's eyes he asked, "Need the journal?" Seeing the nod, he reached over and grabbed the book and pencil allowing Sammy a moment to calm himself before resituating himself on the bed.

As they watched their baby brother draw out his nightmarish vision, neither older boy could help but wonder what would happen if someone from the 'normal' community ever got hold of that book.

The sound of knocking pulled both John and Dean out of their thoughts, sending them into the living room wondering if it was more well wishers, or something more sinister. Opening the door they instantly knew their fears were well founded.

"Hello, I'm Jerry Munsfield and I'm with the Department of Children's Services, I need to speak to you about your brothers."

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It took two hours for Mr. Munsfield to leave and another hour and a half to calm Dean down enough so he wasn't trying to break everything in the house. It hadn't been a total surprise, or at least it shouldn't have been, but somehow having someone come to you face to face to insist that there was a 'nice family willing to take your brothers into their home' really slammed everything back into focus. There was no way he was going to let his family get torn apart even further, not while he was still living anyway. After sending his brother in to check on Sammy, he reached for the phone and dialed a very familiar number.

"_Starlight Inn, how may I help you?"_

"Robert Singer's room please."

"_Thank you."_

"_Hello!"_

"Bobby, do you think you and Jim could stop by, we have a problem and I need to sort a few things out."

"_Sure Johnny, we'll be right there."_

John hung up the phone and shook his head. He wondered if he'd ever be John to the other hunters instead of "Johnny" or his favorite "Johnnyboy". Looking towards the hallway he knew he'd had an audience and wasn't disappointed in seeing Sammy standing there clutching his journal, looking more like the toddler he used to be instead of the kid he was now.

"Hey kiddo, you alright?" he asked and watched as the wide eyes in the pale face looked around first before Sammy nodded hesitantly. Smiling, John opened up his arms and waited until his baby brother was firmly secure in them before speaking again. "We're going to be alright kiddo, you'll see."

They stood there for a few minutes until they heard Bobby's truck pull into the driveway. Pulling only slightly away from each other they knew that there wouldn't be any need to open the door, the hunters knew to walk in. When they turned around they saw the two men and knew that they weren't in this alone.

Jim Murphy was a tall slender man with a kind face and weary eyes. He'd seen too much but kept hunting since he really had no idea what else he could do. Now though he was watching a good family get torn apart and it made him angry that he didn't have a spell or ritual to counteract the effects that the boys were feeling now.

Bobby Singer looked more like a grease monkey than demon expert but he knew his stuff and people from all over the place would seek him out for his knowledge. Now though he wished it was something as easy as a demon; he had books, herbs, incantations to take care of most demons he'd come across, this was something else all together and he had no idea what to do about it.

"Hi Bobby, Jim… what are you doing here?" Dean asked from the doorway. After the visit from the guy trying to take him and Sammy away, he hadn't wanted to be around anyone for a little while.

Smiling, Jim knew that Dean was feeling more than a little lost, anyone at the funeral could see that. The whole hunting community was feeling the loss of the Winchester couple and secretly worried about the outcome of their boys. "Johnny says you boys have a problem, we're going to sit down and try to fix it."

As they sat down at the small table in the kitchen Jim and Bobby watched as Sammy sat in between his brothers clutching a book close to his chest. They had been told about the vision journal and thought it was a great idea, if for no other reason than for the boy to have an outlet of some sort. Now though as they watched the three remaining members of the Winchester family, they were at a loss as to just how they were going to help.

"The state is already trying to get their claws in Dean and Sammy, and I need to know how to keep that from happening." John said without preamble and pointedly ignoring the wide frightened gaze of his baby brother.

The older hunters took in what was said and groaned. This was worse than they thought.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I hope you all like this chapter... I promise we'll see some action later on (I know, I know, I said that before). Take care!

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Jim and Bobby were waiting in the living room trying not to listen to the commotion that was coming from the boys' room, but since they weren't deaf it was practically impossible to ignore the yelling and screaming that was taking place. They knew though that if anyone had the right for some fits of anger it was the Winchester boys, but time was running out and they both wished that Dean and John would stop long enough to at least finish getting ready.

"Damn it Dean, just put on the damn tie so we can go." John yelled, truly fed up that he had to practically dress his brother. It was bad enough that they still hadn't figured out what really happened the night their parents died, but now they had to go in front of a judge to find out if they would be able to stay together.

Sammy watched his brothers face off and all he wanted to do was hide. Normally they all got along, but lately it seemed like no one liked each other anymore. He knew that Dean was angry at everyone and everything, but he couldn't figure out how to change that. John was trying to get everything done but somehow seemed more like a kid than he ever had before and that was scary. It didn't help though that everyday he and Dean had to talk to people about what happened and what they were feeling. Detectives would ask questions that Dean didn't have answers to and that he couldn't explain, doctors asked questions that made Dean mad and him more scared than ever. He just wished they all would leave them alone so they could be a family again, well as much of one since their Mom and Dad were gone. Sighing, he continued to watch the battle rage between his brothers and prayed that everything would be alright again soon; he really needed them right now.

"What does it matter what I'm wearing? They've already made up their minds, don't you get that?" Dean was yelling while trying to yank a tie off his neck. "What do you think all those appointments were really about? They don't care about us otherwise we wouldn't be going in front of a judge to talk about what Mom and Dad wanted for us!"

John had been over everything with an attorney that Jim and Bobby were acquainted with and he knew exactly why they were going in front of the judge today, he just wondered how Dean found out. "Look kiddo, no one's going to do anything that we don't want them to, ok? So calm down, you're upsetting Sammy."

Looking over towards his baby brother, Dean could tell that Sammy was more freaked than normal and it was due to the fact that he and John were at each other's throats. Sighing, he opened his arms and motioned for the youngest brother to give him a hug. It didn't take long for Sammy to wrap himself around him, but he didn't mind. In fact it was the only thing he could think of to help. Ever since Sammy was out of his crib he'd slept on the bottom bunk by himself, but lately he'd taken to having one of his brothers sleep next to him and neither he or John could figure out what he had seen that night that would have scared him that badly.

"Hey Sammy its going be alright. You know me, I can't seem to keep my mouth shut right now. So how about we get out of here and then when we're done we can come back and get on with our lives, alright?" Dean asked, watching Sammy for any other signs of distress. The idiot psychologist that they'd been forced to send him to had insisted that the kid was prone to panic attacks and needed to get everything out in the open so he could move on. 'Sure, like we haven't tried to talk to him about it.' Dean thought sourly as he recalled the withdrawl of their baby brother as soon as the subject was even casually mentioned.

Sam looked between his brothers then smiled weakly, hoping that everything was going to turn out alright today; he didn't think he could make it with either Dean or John not with him. Then again who was to say that John wasn't still planning on going back to school anyways and was just hoping the judge would rule in the state's favor. One thing for certain though, he was tired of everyone asking him questions, it wasn't as if he could answer them anyways. Following his brothers out the door he glanced back only to make sure his journal was still there; he didn't want anyone to read it ever again and knew that as long as Dean was around his secret was safe.

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"Dr. Trevor, is it your experience, that a child experiencing the trauma that Samuel has can still lead a normal and productive life?" the state's attorney asked the middle aged doctor while the judge made notes and listened carefully.

"Yes, with extensive therapy and time I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to grow up and become a fine contributor to society. There is no physical reason why he doesn't speak, he chooses not to. Combine that with the nightmares, it's easy enough to conclude that he was emotionally traumatized the night of his parents' death." Dr. Trevor stated with confidence. This part was easy, there was no other explanation for the boy's silence and it was obvious that he wasn't getting better even with the daily therapy sessions.

"Doctor, what would the next course of action be?"

The doctor took a moment as if contemplating the situation before speaking solemnly to convey the heavy burden the attorney had just laid on him. "I'm afraid that to properly treat the boy he'd first need a full assessment in an around the clock facility for an accurate diagnosis to be made. In my years of experience often family have a tendency to treat such instances casually with the pretense of 'moving on.'"

"Objection, your honor. Dr. Trevor is ignoring years of medical history to fit into his own observations. Sam Winchester has a long history of nightmares. There is no doubt that he was traumatized the night in questions, but for the doctor to claim that…"

"Mr. Johnson, please sit down. I do understand your objection and have to agree. Doctor, have you actually read Mr. Winchester's medical history? It states quite clearly that his family physician has not only seen him about these nightmares, but has noted in his file that it's because of the loving support of his parents and brothers that they have become less frequent as well as less intense. Now, would you care to explain to me why you are making him sound like a basket case in my courtroom?" Judge Anderson asked, while taking a moment to look around the room. His eyes caught the boy in question and wondered if there was a way to find out what was really going on in the boy's head.

Sammy was terrified to the point of shaking the bench that he and his brother were sitting on. The whole process was taking too long, there were too many people, and all he wanted to do was go home and sleep even though he knew what waited for him there. He knew the judge was watching him, but he'd already given his limited statement, their attorney asked yes and no questions for him much to the chagrin of the other attorney.

Dean hated what was happening. They had people making his little brother out to be some sort of lunatic and him out to be psychotic. Ok, so he hit the quack, he deserved it for calling his mom and dad ill fit parents; the guy had never met them, what did he know? Now though they had to listen to neighbors talk about their relationship with the family, and the teachers telling everyone about the meetings they had with their parents; it was enough to get on anyone's nerves but right now he was angry because this was making Sammy more agitated.

The afternoon continued with more testimony from school officials, the family physician, ER doctors that had treated them that night, more neighbors and friends until finally the judge recessed, made his decision and was ready to let everyone in on it.

"John, as you know your parents granted you sole custody of your brothers should anything happen to them. However, with you attending college and no actual job lined up I have to wonder how you could possibly take care of them in the manner that they both will need for quite awhile. As I look over the medical bills that have already accumulated, and even taking into account that there was a life insurance policy left… after deducting funeral costs as well as the current bills already accumulated, I have no idea how you could possibly think that you'd be able to give them even the most modest of means." Judge Anderson said as he looked at the small broken family. "However, after speaking to each of you separately as well as listening to the accounts of people who know your family best, I cannot in all good conscience ignore the request. This is a tough decision, and unfortunately I have to make unpopular ones when necessary. I want to meet back here in one month. In that time there needs to be some changes made; first, you must have steady employment, second, both boys must stay enrolled in school with a steady grade, third Dean needs to continue with his anger management classes, but the most important is that Sam needs to show some marked improvement. I know that this will take a lot of hard work, but I can assure you that if you manage these criteria then I will be able to rule favorably for your family."

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The house was quiet and John wasn't sure if he was happy about that or not. Jim and Bobby had taken it upon themselves to go to the store to stock up on supplies, aka fill the cabinets up to the brim, while Dean was still in process of trying to calm Sammy down after the shock of knowing that they all had to go back in four lousy weeks to prove they all were better off together than apart.

Looking once again at the phone on the kitchen wall, he knew that right now there was only one person he could talk to and he really needed to do that if he was going to get any sense of what he really needed to do. Pressing the numbers didn't take long, but it was a nerve wracking wait until he heard the familiar voice on the phone with him.

"Debby, it's me."

"_Oh my God, Johnny! How are you, are you alright? When are you coming home baby?"_

"We just went to court Deb and… dammit, the judge gave me a month to prove that I can take care of my brothers otherwise he's going to send them to a foster home." He said sadly, the weight of what he was actually facing hitting him so hard he felt as if he could collapse. He was just about to explain how he was going to ask for an extension on his leave from school when he heard something that hit him at his core.

"_Johnny, maybe you should just come back… let them go for awhile. You can still visit them I'm sure, but what good are you going to do them if you drop out of college? I mean sure you can get a job, but what will it pay and what about your dreams of being an engineer? You can't give that up…"_

"I know you did not just say that Deb. These are my little brothers and I'd give up everything for them, just like I know they'd give up anything and everything for me so don't…"

"_Oh for Christ's sake… what could they really have to give up? They're little boys, baby… don't you get that? They're the reason why you're there and not here. They're the reason why you're thinking about throwing away your dream for nothing. They're the reason why…"_

"Why I'm hanging up on you Deborah… don't call me, don't write me, don't think about me. You know, I called you because I thought you might help me figure out what was more important, and you know what… you have – my little brothers. We might not have much, but we have each other and I'm going to make sure it stays that way." John said tersly before he slammed the receiver on the hook. When he looked up he saw his baby brother looking at him with wide frightened eyes and knew instantly what he was afraid of. "C'mere kiddo, I'm not letting anything happen to you or Dean… not on my watch. They want to take you so damn bad, then they'll have to do it over my cold dead body… ok?"

Sam knew his big brother meant what he said, but he couldn't help but wonder just how much of that he would still mean once he found out what happened that night.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: **WARNING... THIS FIRST PART ISN'T FOR THE SQUEMISH!!** _Otherwise, I hope you enjoy it..._

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_

_The night barely had any sound, just the occasional left over cricket who refused to admit that it was time to sleep, which made it so important to get the ritual and cleansing done as quickly as possible; anyone could just walk by and notice that something odd was happening and call the police. After double checking that their boys remembered their jobs, Max and Josie quickly entered the tree line to tend to their portion of the plan._

_With Dean close by, Sammy didn't have a problem with staying by the car, it meant that although his warning to his dad might not have been taken as seriously as he'd hoped, his position in the hunt was still solid… he was still considered part of the family and not some freak. He knew that he didn't have a lot of information to give his dad, but he felt that something was off about this haunting and knew he had to speak up. Now he and his brother were waiting for either the ghost or spirit to try something, or until their parents finished up and they would head back to the house again where they would sit at the table and drink hot cocoa to warm themselves._

_The sound of yelling broke through any other thoughts, freezing him in place. It wasn't until he saw Dean rushing towards the sound of their parents screaming that he knew he needed to do something._

"_Dean, we have to get help! Please Dean, we have to…"__ he pleaded, knowing that if his brother disappeared into the woods then whatever was in there would kill him too._

_He had no idea what Dean told him but he was relieved to see they were heading towards the car. Sensing more than seeing his big brother turn slowly to look behind him, Sammy knew what they'd see and he willed himself to be in the grips of a nightmare instead of actually living this moment. Turning with his brother he saw the shadow at first coming towards them and then Dean was flying through the air until he hit the ground hard enough to bounce._

"_DEAN!" he screamed and tried to go towards his brother only to be held captive by what felt to be a circular wall only he couldn't see one. Looking up he saw a man with pale yellow eyes gazing at him happily as he swung an object back and forth in his hand. Unable to stop himself he looked hesitantly and would forever wish that he hadn't, then he would not know just how horribly his parents had died as he stared into the lifeless eyes of his mother whose head was hanging loosely by her hair in the man's hand._

"_Sammy Sammy Sammy… what __am__ I going to do with you?" the man asked. "You knew that you shouldn't be here, you dreamt what would happen, but now you're here and they're gone. Just what do you think your brothers are going to think when they find out… hmmm? Tell you what, it can be our little secret, ok? No? Well, then I guess there are other ways of dealing with that, I can't have you ruining my plans, now can I?"_

_Sammy watched the man circle him while constantly swinging his mother's mangled face back and forth. Finally the movement stopped and he felt relieved until the man looked straight into his eyes, held his finger to his lips and spoke._

"_Shhhhh Sammy….."_

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Sammy had no idea how long he actually slept, but now he wished he hadn't. The memory of that night was bad enough without the knowledge that his brothers weren't with him when he needed them. Worried that something had happened, he quietly got out of bed and moved through the house to try and find out where everyone was.

As he reached the living room he saw his dad's tools lying out on the coffee table and the newspaper spread out on the floor. He knew they weren't looking into any hunts at the moment, not with people constantly snooping into their activities, but he had to wonder what was going on.

"Hey, there you are kiddo… I was about to come and get you. After everything that's been going on I called the school to let them know you'd be a little late today. Once I told them that you were actually sleeping they understood and agreed to leave you be for awhile. So… how are you doing?" John asked as he sat on the couch and placed a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon on the coffee table before patting the cushion next to him.

Shrugging his shoulders, Sammy wasn't sure what he should do. If he let his brother know he had a nightmare then he'd get asked a bunch of questions that he just didn't want to think about.

John knew that something was going on with his baby brother, but the agreement he had with Dean was to let Sammy get through a week without shaking so damn much and then they could tackle the problem of what their little brother saw. However coming up with that plan and keeping with it was becoming two completely different things, especially with said little brother drawing in his book almost constantly making them all wonder if his visions were increasing or if he was now able to go into greater detail; and didn't that last thought scare the crap out of them.

"Ok, you eat up and hurry getting ready and I'll see what I can do about landing a job today, how's that?" John asked while ruffling Sammy's hair. Smiling he couldn't help but remember the light hearted arguments their parents would have about cutting the curly locks. Mom would always win especially when she reminded Dad how much time he had spent playing with the curls when Sammy was a baby. "You know, Mom and Dad loved your hair kiddo… you know that, right? That's why Dad let Mom trim it instead of taking you to the barber like me and Dean… he didn't want to risk someone messing it up."

Shocked, Sammy looked at his brother and wondered what brought that on. He knew that his parents would joke about giving him a buzz cut if he brought anything lower than a 'B' home from school, but he knew it was just that… a joke. Looking at John quizzically he tried to convey the question running around in his brain.

"Sorry about that Sammy, guess I'm feeling a little sentimental at the moment. Hey, don't look so shocked, you'd be surprised how sentimental I'd get while I was at school." John said and wished he hadn't when he saw the wall go up behind his little brother's eyes. "I did miss you, and if it hadn't been Texas A&M I would stayed here, you know that right? I just wanted to make everyone proud and I thought I was."

Sammy sighed and leaned back against the couch. It wasn't that he and Dean weren't proud of their big brother, but it was the timing that made them feel like they didn't matter. It was a week after graduation that they found John packing his bags saying that he wanted to get a summer job down there to get a feel for the place before the fall semester started. Both he and Dean had planned on having the whole summer of new hunts, new adventures and even some new memories with John before they all took a week off to drive him down and help him get settled in his dorm. It was something that they had secretly been planning with their parents from the moment Mom had sent in the application right under the deadline. He knew he needed to explain it, but he couldn't get the words out and knew that Dean would never admit to any of it.

Patting Sammy on the knee John smiled. "Come on kiddo, time to go. With any luck I can land something temporary and start tomorrow." His smile faded as he saw the dejected look on his baby brother's face and wondered what was really going on.

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Dean couldn't concentrate on anything and the reason was his little brother, who had been sleeping so soundly he actually slept through both him and John getting ready for the day. He couldn't help but wonder if Sammy's sudden exhaustion had to do with his increased journaling. Now that he thought about it, he was having to buy more colored pencils than usual and wondered just how much detail Sammy was putting into his vision recordings.

Sighing, he knew he was in trouble when Mr. Epson called out his name apparently for the second or third time and demanded he answer the question.

"I'm sorry sir, my mind was elsewhere." He said honestly while ignoring the giggling in the classroom.

"At least you were being honest Mr. Winchester, however that will not excuse you from the problem at hand. Now please look at number twelve and enlighten us with _preferably_ the correct answer."

Although he normally hated his Math class, right now they were dealing with Algebra and to him it was more like a puzzle to be solved that some idiotic rule or definition. Seeing what they were dealing with he nodded. "Sure Mr. Epson, it's 12x-2y+3"

"Very good Dean. Now how about we continue to pay attention so we all can get through the following month before Christmas Break, with the least amount of stress, shall we?"

Numbly Dean nodded his head while Mr. Epson's words ricocheted around his mind. It would be Christmas soon and they would have to celebrate it without their Mom and Dad. Feeling nauseous, he grabbed his books and hastily left the classroom ignoring his teacher who was calling out his name. All he could think about was getting out of the building whose walls were clearly closing in on him.

So intent on getting outside he was completely unaware of the custodian who watched him rush out the double doors before his eyes flashed their pale yellow.

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Knowing that his brothers were expecting him to hold up his end of the bargain, Sammy didn't try to get out of going to school even though all he really wanted to do was hide until the world ended. As he walked into his classroom and held out his pass from the Office, he could feel everyone looking at him as if he was something to be studied. Normally he wouldn't care, but at the moment it really was bugging him and he was starting to recite small curses in his head at those who just didn't seem to want to leave him alone. By the time he got to his desk he could feel a headache building and all he could do was ride it out. With John looking for a job and Dean busy at school, he didn't have anyone he could call to bring his medicine to him. His parents had thought about leaving some with the school nurse, but thought it would only add suspicion to their family if people were privy to the intensity and frequency of his headaches. Their doctor assured them all that it wasn't that uncommon for children with higher than average intelligence to also have increased number of symptoms, but even he didn't know what really triggered them... sometimes it really didn't pay to be psychic in an unsympathetic world. Whatever it was that he was tapping into at the moment though he wished it would move on because it was really starting to get on his nerves.

The sound of the fire alarm shocked everyone until the teacher had the presence of mind to get everyone out the door calmly and onto playground. It was too bad they didn't have their coats since it was a chilly November day, but no one was going to ask to go back inside; it might be a drill, but there were still rules to follow. Suddenly he tuned into what some of the teachers were saying and he started to worry about being out in the open.

"I made sure to double check the schedule. There isn't supposed to be another fire drill until Spring. Do you think it's one of those crank bomb threats?"

"I don't know, but if I find out that someone knew about this and didn't warn us I'm going to have a fit. Jennifer Dawson just got back to school from having bronchitis, how do you think she's going to…"

The windows blowing out from two classrooms and onto the side parking lot brought screams and curses alike from those standing by watching. The knowledge that whatever was going on wasn't a drill became more evident with the arrival of the Fire and Police Depts., both of which assured the teachers that they would make sure the situation was taken care of quickly, while the arriving news crew were more than willing to do a blanket announcement that parents and guardians needed to pick up the children from the nearby park.

Although the pressure inside his head had relieved somewhat, Sammy couldn't help but feel that he was missing something. Looking around he saw a man in a custodian uniform looking as upset as everyone else. It would have been so easy just to pass him by and not think anything else about him… except for the flash of yellow in his eyes.

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John couldn't believe he was in the position he was in at the moment. It was weird enough to be driving the Impala as if he owned it, and technically he did, but now he was asking one of his dad's former bosses for a job. If he didn't know better he would have thought he was on some sort of comedy show where the host would jump out and yell something ridiculous like 'Fooled You!' In all honestly he had only stopped in at Midtown Garage because he knew they always carried parts for his dad, but it didn't take long for Mr. Peterson to start talking about how he missed having the eldest Winchester around and wished that he and his mom hadn't been attacked in the park that night. How the hell they got on the subject of jobs he still had no idea but as he listened to the older man he had to really wonder what the punchline was.

"Now I know that your dad liked to be flexible with his work, and that was fine for me at the time, but I've expanded quite a bit and I really need another set of hands full time. Now I'm not saying that I can't be flexible with your hours, 'cause I know how it is with raising kids, but I really need to know you're willing to work a full schedule even if that means you come in on a Saturday or Sunday to make up for any time lost. Now last year we were advised to add health insurance and a retirement fund by the accountant and I have to admit that the insurance isn't the best, but it does what it needs to in a pinch and it starts thirty days after you start… your portion is taken out weekly so it doesn't hit as hard like it would once a month. As far as the retirement fund… sorry son, you'll just have to do it the old fashioned way – save your pennies in a jar and bury it in the back yard."

Laughing, John could tell why his dad liked the man and had to admit that this was something that he'd been hoping for. He held out his hand in agreement and was just about to thank the man when one of the mechanics turned up the radio with a concerned look on his face. It took a moment to understand what the announcer was saying.

"… the new state of the art alarm system bought by the bond money voted on by the citizens of Lawrence five years ago registered the beginnings of the fire that began in the boiler room at Cleveland Elementary School less than an hour ago. All students and faculty had successfully evacuated the building before the fire spread blowing out several windows and damaging numerous classrooms. It is unknown at this time the extent of structural damage. All parents and guardians are asked to pick up their children at Hilldale Park…"

"Oh my God!" John blurted out, staring at the radio in shock.

"Go John, we'll discuss the job's details tomorrow or whenever you're able to start." Mr. Peterson said as he grasped the younger man's shoulder. "Go on… I'm sure your brother is fine, but I bet he'll be glad to see you."

Nodding, John ran to the Impala and didn't bother with the seatbelt as he sped down the road towards the park that he remembered having picnics with his family. It only took him a few minutes before he broke harshly to a stop in front of a small crowd and knew instantly that whatever had happened his baby brother had experienced some backlash. He hadn't managed to get fully out of the car before Sammy practically tackled him with a hug and didn't seem to want to let go anytime soon.

"Come on kiddo, let's get home and we can figure out what's going on, ok?" John asked; worried that whatever was going on was going to place them all back to square one with Sammy.

Somehow they were able to pull into the driveway with Sammy still holding on for dear life the whole way. What surprised John though when he stopped the car was the kitchen door opening to reveal his other brother looking pale and shaky in the doorway.

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Sammy was drifting again and knew that he couldn't stop it. His brothers were in the kitchen arguing quietly about something that he could never figure out and he had wanted to be close but not in the middle of it which left the couch to lean back on. It didn't take long before he was wherever he was supposed to be and as he looked around he wished once again that he didn't have this gift.

"_Hey there Sammy boy… how ya doin'?" the custodian asked as his eyes flashed once again. Seeing that the boy wasn't going to say anything he smiled once again. "You know I could have sworn that you were thinking about letting those brothers of yours know about what happened… about me. Now we both know that wouldn't be a good idea, don't we… after all, we wouldn't want a repeat of mommy and daddy, would we?"_

_Shaking his head, Sammy's eyes widened while he tried to plead his case that he wasn't going to tell anyone, but once again nothing came out of his mouth._

"_Oh relax Sammy… I made sure you can't actually __talk__ to them, but I am concerned about that wonderful little journal of yours. If I were you, I'd make sure it was well hidden… just so that something… __accidental __didn't happen."_

Waking with a start, Sammy knew that what he just experienced was real and not some sort of demented dream but he had to wonder just what that man was if he could get by trained hunters. Trying to calm himself he turned and watched his brothers continue to talk about something that they only knew about. Finally he made a decision… he'd do whatever it took to make sure his brothers lived – no matter what else it cost him.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Sorry for the sporadic updates, I'm going a bit nuts waiting on some good news to be delivered by the mailman... nope, not the rights to Supernatural, but something just as good - yeah, now you understand why I'm acting a little odd? So, thanks for your patience and as soon as I get confirmation, I'll let you all in on the secret! :) Hope you like this chapter in the meantime. Take care!!

* * *

John hated having to play the heavy, especially over something as trivial as a missed day of school, but the Judge had been clear; both his brothers had to have regular attendance and decent grades. So for him to just let Dean's disregard for that go wasn't possible, but he had no idea what to do about it especially after he found out why his little brother had felt so compelled to rush out of his class to begin with. Sighing, he leaned back in the wooden chair and thought about what his parents would have done, but quickly dismissed that thought considering that his parents were the type to allow any of them out of school if they felt the need… even if it was just to lounge around and do nothing. Not that they didn't want them to have an education, more like they felt that if a person wasn't in the frame of mind to learn, then why waste everyone's time. At the time he had relished in the knowledge that he could decide for himself if he needed a 'mental day' or not, but now with the situation so tentative with the courts, he needed to be more vigilant with his brothers, no matter what the reason might be.

"Dean, I get that you were upset, but you can't do that again. If the Judge hears about this it could look really bad on us and then where will be? Do you think he'll be able to keep you and Sammy together, is that what you think? 'Cause I got news for you kiddo, that's not always the case. What do you think they'll do to our little brother when they find out about his special gifts, huh? Damn it Dean, I really wish that you had thought this through." John said exasperated, hoping to get the point across without seeming too harsh.

"Right, sure… that's exactly what I want… for some stranger to get their hands on Sammy, you found out my devious plan! God Johnny, you are such a prick!" Dean yelled before marching out of the kitchen, completely oblivious to Sammy's shocked presence inside the living room.

Knowing that Dean needed a few minutes to cool off, John was content in staying where he was and attempt to figure out how the hell this happened to his family, but then he noticed something in the living room that made him groan inwardly. "Hey Sammy, sorry we disturbed you." He said as he opened his arms wide hoping his baby brother wouldn't turn down the opportunity at some alone time. Seeing his littlest brother rush to him, he had a feeling that something happened that neither he nor Dean knew about, but wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Instead, he held Sammy close and refused to let go until the smaller boy started to relax once again.

"Hey, you know Sammy I was thinking. That shrink hasn't been able to help you and I'm starting to think that we've been going about this the wrong way. How about we call Missouri and see if she can come back early and…"

Sammy heard his brother and knew exactly what that meant, it meant that they'd find out and then they'd die. He couldn't allow that… he couldn't lose them too. Shaking his head he pulled out of his brother's grasp and backed away as he continued to try to say something… anything… but nothing came out which frustrated him that he couldn't warn his brother of the danger he was in even if he couldn't get specific. It wasn't until he realized that John had followed him into the living room again, trying to talk to him, to calm him down that he suddenly saw everything around him in a new light. So many things on the shelf could be a way to learn more about the man with yellow eyes and it turned his blood cold, making his panic grow until he reached out and cleared a whole shelf with a sweep of his arm not caring that some of the artifacts were now lying broken on the floor. He continued to clear shelf after shelf while evading his brother's arms until finally he couldn't see anymore due to the tears that had built up. Pausing only for a moment, he wasn't ready for the feel of arms around him and he fought as hard as he could until finally he wore himself out and slumped against the chest of his older brother, not able to move anymore.

John had never seen Sammy act this way and it was more than a little scary. While his little brother was ripping the objects on the shelves apart he saw his middle brother rush out of their room and looked as shocked as he felt. It still took them a few minutes to catch Sammy in a slowdown and softly tackle him all the while trying to keep him from hurting himself. Finally though the kid slumped down and both brothers stared at each other.

"What hell was that?" Dean demanded.

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Jim knew that he had his work cut out for him, but there was no way he could turn his back on the family, even though he had long ago turned his back on God. Sighing he remembered the day all too well when he walked away from the church and hadn't looked back since. Now though he had to wonder how he was going to help the remaining members of the torn family, when he himself wasn't sure it could be done. He had warned the elder Winchesters years ago that Sammy's gifts would be a magnet to the supernatural world, and now there was evidence to show that the kid had really done it this time and if his suspicions were correct, then he had no idea how any of them would be able to protect the youngest brother.

Feeling the need to get away from his own thoughts, he turned the radio station knowing he should be able to pick up something closer to Lawrence, what he heard though made him wonder if he was already too late.

"…the explosion at Cleveland Elementary that took place earlier today. Although no injuries have been reported, the school has been reported closed until a full investigation can take place and any structural damage repaired. Now for the weather,…"

Ignoring the rest of the report, Jim worried that he was definitely too late to be of any assistance. He'd been told that a mid level demon had been plotting something and could possibly be moving in to strike, and somehow he just couldn't see this latest development at Sammy's school as a coincidence; mainly because he didn't believe in coincidences. Pressing the accelerator harder, he felt satisfaction in knowing that his truck might be old, but it could still do its job. Now all he had to do was find the boys and warn them about what was possibly going on – without freaking any of them out… sure, no problem.

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Although night had descended upon the house, neither John nor Dean worried about turning on a light, their concern more for Sammy than others finding their way around the house. As they both sat on opposite ends of the bed, they shared their concern about their baby brother's outburst. Even when Sammy had been in his 'terrible two's' he'd never acted like that, choosing more to be fussy or just uncomfortable with everything instead of violent outbursts or temper. This new development had both brothers worried and stumped as what they needed to do.

Hearing a truck stop in front of the house, John looked at Dean and nodded before rushing out of the room to grab the shotgun. They knew that people normally didn't park in front of their home unless they knew them, but strange things were going on at the moment and none of them were going to take any chances. Knowing that Dean had by now refreshed the salt line on the window and was in the process of laying another one down around the bed, he concentrated on the person approaching the door - readying himself to shoot if need be.

The sound of the doorknob rattling before the knocking began echoed through the quiet home, but it was the voice behind the door that grabbed John's attention. "John, it's me… look I really need to see you boys and…"

John swung the door open quickly while at the same time squirted holy water onto the other man. Seeing no ill effects, he pulled Jim inside and quickly secured the door once more. "Next time… call! Weird things are going on and damnit things are going to have to change around here."

Shocked, Jim watched as the now eldest Winchester started towards the kitchen while mumbling things that he was sure he didn't hear correctly. Reaching over to turn on a light, he quickly understood that things were definitely different in the Winchester household and it didn't have anything to do with the now deceased parents. "What happened John? Were you boys attacked? Is everyone ok?"

"We're fine Jim, its Sammy we're worried about." Dean said softly as he walked into the living room. "See you found the remains of Hurricane Sammy."

Jim watched as Dean joined his older brother and knew that this wasn't some horrendous joke. "What exactly happened?" he asked, knowing that Sammy wasn't one to just have a fit on a whim… in fact he'd never known the youngest boy to have a fit even if it was well deserved.

Shaking his head, John motioned for their friend to sit down while he started a pot of coffee. "We don't know. Sammy slept in today so he was late for school. I made sure that Dean was on time, mainly because of what Judge Anderson ordered, but after taking Sammy I went looking for a job. Amazingly I landed one when I least expected it but then I heard on the radio that Sammy's school had a fire break out and I guess the boiler exploded. He and I get home to see Dean beat us here because he remembered Christmas and that mom and dad won't be here and then it really starts to get weird. I mean, everything was fine… ok, not fine, but Dean and I would have worked it all out anyways. So Dean goes to our room and I see Sammy standing there so I start talking to him about seeing if Missouri could come home from her sister's and maybe help us figure out what happened, and then Sammy freaked out. I swear Jim I've never seen him act like that. In fact if I didn't know better I'd say he was possessed."

Hearing that last phrase come out of John's mouth made Jim wonder just how bad it actually had been, then a horrible thought occurred to him. "John, have you…"

"Had him drink some holy water before he crashed." Dean said wearily. He knew what the other man was thinking, but that was the thing… Sammy couldn't become possessed. Their parents were so worried about it that they had made sure the baby of the family got a small tattoo that was hidden in his hairline at the base of his skull… not too many people knew of it, and it was one of the things they worried about when the subject of foster care came up.

John looked at Dean and had to wonder if the kid was telling the truth or not, it was so hard to tell at times which came in handy during a hunt, but not so much when dealing with family issues. Refraining from blurting out the secret of Sammy's tattoo, although anyone who thought about it would have realized the merit of it… after all with his little brother being a virtual beacon for the supernatural it only made sense to make sure he was protected… he waited for Jim's reaction and wasn't too surprised when the older man nodded thoughtfully before settling into a chair.

"Boys, there's something I think you should know before Sammy wakes up again." Jim said as he hesitated to begin. Knowing that there was no easy way to say it, he jumped in with both feet hoping he wasn't making a horrible mistake. "I found out that there's a demon that's planning something big and I'm worried that you boys are about to get in the middle of it." Seeing their worried expressions he held up his hand in the attempt to stave off their questions for a moment. "Now I'm not saying it's definite, but what I've been able to piece together it's a…"

The sound of the door softly opening made all three hunters turn their attention to the living room where the light from the porch streamed through the opening of the doorway. Panicked, Dean ran to the bedroom yelling his baby brother's name while John ran towards the door praying he was wrong.

"Dean, he's outside!" John yelled as he raced outside in hopes of catching up to their little brother. With it being a new moon, he couldn't see much and he worried he wouldn't be able to pick up Sammy's path. It wasn't long before a flashlight was pressed into his hand and he nodded his appreciation as he started running down the street listening closely as he heard Dean's running gait fade away as he went in the opposite direction.

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He knew he wasn't supposed to be out on his own but he knew he had to do this now, without his brothers seeing what he was doing. The door had made enough noise that he knew both John and Dean would be following close, but they didn't know that Josh got a new bike and said he could use it anytime he needed to… and right now he needed to.

It didn't take long to run into the neighbor's yard and sneak the bike through the back gate that connected to the easement that led to the next street, but it did take him a little while to finally decide that he needed to do this… to save his brothers he'd go against everything he'd been taught if he had to, but he wouldn't sit back and watch his family get hurt anymore, not because of him. With his decision made, he started riding as fast as he could down the dark streets knowing where he was going, wishing he didn't have to do this alone; as absurd as it sounded, he had always been afraid of the dark.

Finally arriving at his destination, Sammy got off the bike and climbed the wrought iron fence with his backpack secure on his shoulders and ran quickly until he reached the two stones that symbolized the day his life fell apart. Falling to his knees in between the grave markers, he allowed the tears to fall and started to dig in the space between his mom and dad. Feeling as if he finally got the hole deep enough, he carefully unzipped his pack and ignored his raw hands as he lifted his journal out of it and placed it in the space he had cleared before dousing it both with salt and lighter fluid.

'If I can't have it, there's no way I'm letting him get it.' He thought as he lit the match and tossed it on the evidence of his freakiness, of just how wrong he was… of how it should be him lying there instead of his parents. Hearing something close by, he quickly covered the fire and left quietly in hopes that no one would see him leave.

Across the street from where young Sammy Winchester regained the borrowed bike and started his way back home, a shadow moved along the darkness until it stopped in the middle of the road and gazed intently with its yellow tinted eyes at the spot that the boy had been before dissipating once again as if it was never there.


	6. Chapter 6

Jim knew that the older boys would come back soon if they couldn't find Sammy on their own, so he took the time to start a pot of coffee in case it was needed for a longer search. He didn't know what was really going on, but he was determined to help his friends boys get through this crisis as well. The sudden change in the air made him worry that something had gotten past the salt lines and he rushed through the living room checking that everything was in place before continuing his search in the other rooms. When he reached the boys room, he paused at the sight of the thin curtains slightly billowing in the cold evening breeze. Seeing the youngest Winchester lying on his bed seemingly asleep took the man by surprise, but not as much as the state of dishevelment the boy was in. Hearing voices outside, he left quietly and motioned for both John and Dean to follow.

"He came back?" Dean hurriedly asked as he brushed past Jim to check on his little brother.

John hesitated only a moment to ask, "Did he say where he went?"

"No John, I only came in here because I felt the cold air coming through the window. By the time I got here he was already asleep on the bed."

Nodding, John walked into the room and stopped suddenly when he saw Dean holding one of Sammy's hands, inspecting it in horror. Looking more closely he saw what concerned his brother and he had to wonder what exactly happened while their little brother was gone from their sight.

Dean looked up only briefly before he choked out, "He's been digging with his bare hands John. What the hell is going on?"

Shaking his head, John was about to admit that he had no idea, but that thought was frozen when he saw Dean's expression change from worry to suspicious understanding. "What?" he asked quietly as he watched Dean get up from the bed and start looking around the room. "Dean, what are you looking for?"

"The journal. I haven't seen it today, have you?" Dean asked before turning towards John who looked like he was trying to remember the last time he saw it. "Damn, you don't think someone found it do you? That that's the reason Sammy's freaking out?"

"Sammy's journal's missing?" Jim asked as he walked further into the room. "Are you sure? Maybe he hid it so no one would find it while you were at school."

John and Dean looked at each other before turning their attention to the small figure on the bed, more precisely the raw looking hands with broken nails and a thick layer of dirt caked in the fingernails and along the fingers.

"Jim, stay with Sammy will you?" John asked as both he and Dean ran out of the room in hopes of figuring out what their baby brother had done, all the while hoping they could undo it.

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Sammy knew he was dreaming, but that still didn't help his fear. As he looked around he noticed that there was no break in the darkness and he couldn't help but wonder where he was and if he would be able to find his way back home this time.

"Ah Sammyboy, there you go again, worrying about those brothers of yours – how sweet. But, you know this is all your doing, right? Just think of how much has already been lost just because you exist in the same world as normal people."

The demon's voice floated around Sammy, making him shiver, either from cold or fear he couldn't tell, at the moment they seemed interchangeable.

"Don't worry, it's still our little secret what you did. Oh wait – it's more like… what you didn't do, isn't it? If you had just been able to convince dear old dad that you were serious, that something really bad was in the woods that night… well, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?" the demon taunted the boy until the tears were flowing freely and the only sounds heard were those of that same lone boy, lost in the darkness of his own mind, tried to get his breathing under control in the attempts to show the monster he had no control over him.

The sound of laughter started as a faint whisper until it reached a crescendo that threatened to deafen Sammy even as he covered his ears with his hands. He didn't know how much more he could take, he could only hope that he died before he lost his mind completely, even if that meant leaving his brothers – they would be better off without him and his problems anyway.

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The wait was almost unbearable as two of the Winchester brothers sat and watched the security guard make his rounds slowly around the perimeter in his car. Finally the man left and both boys let out the breath they were holding before they rushed the fence and quickly climbed over. Neither one of them wanted to think about Sammy being at the cemetery alone especially at night, but it was the only thing that would make sense at the moment, and now they both needed to find out why their little brother had been there.

It didn't take long to get to the gravesite and as the beams from their flashlights illuminated the graves they saw that someone had definitely done some digging, but not for what they had initially feared; their parents graves hadn't been disturbed which meant whoever it was hadn't been meaning to either bring them back, or do a salt and burn.

Sighing, Dean looked at John in relief and saw the same expression reflected in the older brother's eyes. Nodding slightly, Dean bent down and started to remove the dirt in hopes of finding out what was really going on. It didn't take long before he found what he was looking for and the sight sent chills down his spine. Picking up the charred journal, he gently turned it over and saw that although damaged, it was still salvageable. With what light was shining onto his hands, he ignored John's insistence that he be the one to open it, and instead took a deep breath and turned the pages gently until he came across the last written entry and only then did it all make sense and the situation hit him with full force.

'_Tonight we're going to do the banishing ritual in the woods, but I wish we weren't. I've already talked to Dad about what I saw in my dreams, that something's wrong, that it's a trap of some kind, but he just smiled at me and said that we'd take extra precautions. I know he thinks I'm just having doubts because of what happened with the last witch we dealt with, but that's not it and I can't get him to listen to me – not that I blame him, my dream made no sense at all… a spirit of a witch who suddenly disappears only to have yellow eyes watching in the dark, the screams of everyone I love so much echoing in the forest while Dean and I stand by the car, Dean running towards the sound only to stop and see something coming out of the dark, Dean being thrown into a tree so hard he breaks his neck, me alone to face yellow eyes still watching in the dark. All pieces of a puzzle and none seem to fit together like they normally do. Dad told me not to worry, if my dream didn't seem like a normal vision, then it probably wasn't, but what if it was? How do I get Dad to listen? I would talk to Mom, but they don't like it when we go to the other if they've already told us no. I wish Dean was home, he always listens, but he's going to his girlfriend's house until it's time to get ready.'_

Dean was about to close the book when he saw the drawing on the next page, the first drawing his little brother made after going completely mute; a man in the shadows with yellow eyes holding their mother's head from his fingers while motioning to Sammy to be quiet with his other hand. To the normal observer it was a horrid scene drawn by a very disturbed individual, to someone who actually knew what lived in the dark; it was the answer they'd been searching for.

"Come on, Sammy's in trouble!" Dean yelled as he took off the way they came, not caring if John was right behind him or not.

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Sammy continued to sleep fitfully while Jim watched and prayed. He might have walked away from his collar, but he'd been known to ask for divine intervention every now and again. Sighing, he sat close by and continued his vigil over the youngest Winchester, not wanting to scare the boy but not wanting him to be alone either. Once again he looked at the clock and wondered where the other two brothers were, it had been over an hour and he was starting to worry that they had gotten caught doing something foolish. No sooner had that thought entered his mind, he heard the familiar rumble of the Impala and felt himself relax; if anyone could break through Sammy's nightmare, it would be his big brothers.

It took less than a minute for the front door to open and the sounds of running feet was heard throughout the house. Jim saw Dean come through the bedroom door first and was thankful that young Sammy was still asleep as Dean's expression would have scared the boy to death. In all his years of knowing the teen before him, he'd never seen him so scared.

"How is he?" Dean asked quietly as he sat on the bed and ran his fingers through Sammy's hair.

Jim tried to ignore the damaged journal but it was so hard to tear his gaze away and it was only until Dean demanded once again the condition of his little brother, was the older man able to. "He's caught up in a nightmare. I knew he wouldn't want anyone but you or John touching him, so I've just been waiting to see what happens."

Dean nodded and was about to thank Jim when another figure came through the door.

"What the hell Dean? We need to talk about this. What's in that journal and what does it have to do with Sammy?" John demanded as he marched closer to both brothers before he turned and reached out to grab the leather bound book only to shy his hand away once he heard Dean growl at him in warning. Shocked, but effectively warned, he pulled his hand away from the journal and looked at Dean, waiting for an explanation.

"You don't get to just walk in here and take over everything John; you weren't here when Mom and Dad gave him that. You want to know what's in it, then you're going to have to wait until he trusts you to look at it." Dean said in a quiet voice while his attention was held by his younger brother.

"Dean, I get you're upset, but I need to know what's going on if I'm going to be able to protect him… and you." John said, the frustration in his voice bleeding through.

Dean shook his head slightly before answering. "Look, Jim says there's a demon snooping around and we're hip deep in whatever it wants, that's all you need to know right now."

John stood still for a moment before looking between Jim and Dean. "Please tell me I'm wrong; please tell me that somehow Mom and Dad didn't stumble into a hunt involving a demon. C'mon Dean, Dad's too good for that."

"It's not about being good enough John," Jim said quietly, finally starting to put the pieces together. "it's about being prepared and for whatever reason your parents weren't, right Dean?"

Nodding, Dean continued to watch Sammy and was pleased that the younger boy was starting to calm down. "I can tell you that he warned Dad that something wasn't right, he tried to warn them, but it was one of those times that everything pointed one direction and there wasn't any reason to think otherwise. I can tell you that this demon is screwing with Sammy's head in ways that I don't even want to think about. I can also tell you that for whatever reason Sammy has for not telling us what's going on, it's a good one so we need to respect that until we can convince him that it's ok to trust us with it."

"So you're not going to read anything else in that damn book?" John demanded, not believing what he was hearing. "You expect me to believe that you're just going to sit there and not even glance at it even though we now know that our little brother knows more about what's going on and what happened than he's letting on?"

Dean stood and faced John squarely. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. I saw what I had to, and that's all I'm going to see until he let me know I can start looking again, got it? If you don't like it, go back to Texas and let us take our chances with the state."

Jim knew that this could end badly for the brothers, but he also knew that at the moment he needed to stay out of it. It was only when he saw that Sammy was now awake and aware that he understood that he should have stopped the brothers from airing out their grievances in the room; Sammy heard everything.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Ok, hopefully this flows smoothly, it looked good as I was writing it (honestly). Enjoy!

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"Hey Buddy, how are you feeling?" John asked as he tried to keep the knowledge of how this looked out of his head. He looked at Dean briefly and saw the concern in his younger brother's face and had to agree; Sammy didn't need to hear any of that.

Dean was about to go to Sammy when the younger boy took a shaky breath and sat up until his legs dangled over the bed and his hands rested on the edge of the bed. Before anyone had a chance to say anything else, he reached over and took the journal, holding it tightly to his chest as the tears started to flow again. Now that his brothers knew what happened, it was only a matter of time before they left.

"Sammy, I'm sorry I looked, I just needed to know that it wasn't hurt too bad, and then I noticed what it said. I really am sorry Sammy; I promise I won't read any more of it until you tell me its ok." Dean pleaded; sure that he knew what was going on in his baby brother's head and praying that it wasn't too late to change it.

As Jim stood to the side helpless to think of a solution, he heard the phone ring in the living room and took a chance in answering it, hoping that it was someone with some sort of good news.

"Winchester residence."

"_Jim? It's Josh. Look, I've run into a problem and need some help. Normally I'd call someone else given the boys' situation, but I really need your special expertise."_

Jim sighed knowing exactly what the other hunter needed. Nodding, he silently agreed that Joshua wouldn't have called unless he was in a deeper mess than he had planned.

"Of course. I know where you were supposed to be, you still there?"

"_Pretty much. Once you hit town, just find the motel at the end of town, they'll point you my way."_

Hanging up the receiver, Jim didn't need hunter's instincts to know that he wasn't alone. Turning, he saw John stare at him harshly and knew that this wasn't the way to get the boys to trust any of them at the moment.

"So, you're out of here, huh? Well isn't that just great. You're the one who kept insisting that we weren't alone in this, and now – what, you're off some other damn crusade?" John asked with controlled anger. He hated that he'd trusted so many people to help them with this whole fiasco, but now wasn't the time to second guess himself. "Do what you have to do, just do us all a favor and stay gone."

"John, it's only for a few days. Joshua's run into a…"

"…a problem. Yeah, so I heard. Look, you help him and we'll make sure this demon doesn't do something like… oh, I don't know… kill us – how's that?" John demanded as he turned around and walked back into the bedroom, ignoring the man who was trying to explain why he was abandoning his little brothers. Pulling Sammy into his lap he held the smaller boy tight. "Don't worry Sammy, we'll be fine."

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John had other things to do besides be underneath an Olds that he'd already repaired the week before, mainly making sure that his little brothers were doing as well as they pretended. Really, did they think he was that stupid? Ok, so it was nice not having arguments over every little thing, and it was great not having the phone ring once a day to inform him that Dean had done something to one of the other students, but really – this was getting to be too much! They had less than a week left before they all went before the judge again and the only progress that seemed to have been made is that Dean wasn't getting caught fighting.

Sighing, he rolled out from under the car and looked at the clock knowing that he had just enough time to get cleaned up and pick up Sammy from school before rushing him over to his appointment with the court appointed shrink. After washing up and hanging up his coveralls, he placed the ticket order onto the desk along with the keys and waved 'bye to his otherwise engaged boss.

It didn't take long before he was on the road and that left a few minutes to allow those unwanted thoughts to run through his head once more. The memories of that night when he and Dean found Sammy's journal buried was something that he always tried to push past, but those were the very ones that loved to pop up at any unguarded moment. The look his baby brother gave him after he realized that they took his journal was something he never wanted to see again. Worse yet, the look in Sammy's eyes since then actually broke his heart; as if the kid knew he was alone in the world and he just had to get used to it.

Reaching the elementary school before he knew it, John stared at the building for a moment before making his way to the office where Sammy was already waiting.

"Hey Buddy, ready to go?" he asked as he signed the log out sheet before taking his brother's backpack and walking out the door behind the smaller boy. He knew this was tough on Sammy, but some things just had to be done; visiting a shrink about a condition that wasn't going to improve by conventional means was one of them.

"_I'm telling you what I saw John! Whatever it was told Sammy to be quiet and now he can't talk – what more do you want?" Dean yelled._

"_Come on… you really think that this demon put a whammy on our little brother? What would it gain from that?" John asked as if trying to calm a wayward child, which did nothing for that particular brother's mood._

"_Obviously what it's already gotten – Sammy not talking!"_

John watched as Sammy got into the Impala and quietly buckle his seatbelt. It was a normal thing to do, but for some reason it made him feel sad because there was a time that even buckling a seatbelt was a noisy affair for the littlest Winchester.

"Hey Sammy, I was wondering if you'd like to grab some burgers for dinner after this session? We can go to the Burger House and get a bag full of greasy burgers and fries before breaking out the ice cream." When John didn't get an answer, he knew that his little brother was already lost inside a session with the doctor that hadn't even taken place yet. "Don't worry kiddo, it's going to be fine – you'll see."

It was half way into the session when John knew something was wrong. He'd always given Dean a hard time about knowing exactly what Sammy needed before the squirt did, but sometimes it was so obvious even a blind man could see it. He looked over at the receptionist and wasn't surprised that she was once again engrossed in a romance novel, effectively ignoring him. Taking full advantage of that, he walked through the door and down the short hall until he came to the office of Dr. Trevor. He hesitated only a moment to decide whether or not to knock when something he heard caught his attention.

"The very fact that you are the only one to escape unharmed is remarkable to me Samuel. I mean, the chances of that are… well, let's just say they're astronomical. So, how about we drop this charade and get down to business. I know he wanted something from you, what was it?" the doctor asked before he slammed a hand against the desk. "Tell me! My time and patience is running out with you, I want answers and you will give them to me today or else. You know that you're not the only special one here Samuel, tell me or I'll show you just how special I can be!"

"What the hell is going on here?" John demanded as he burst through the door. As he looked into the room he saw the so called doctor towering over his little brother who looked scared enough to do certain things that he hadn't done since he was three. "Cristo!" he yelled and knew they were in deep crap when Dr. Trevor's eyes changed to dark black, exuding the hatred he'd obviously been harboring in his soul for so long. Not hesitating any longer, John doused the man with holy water while at the same time grabbing Sammy's arm and pulling him away from the room.

As both Winchesters ran out of the office they heard Dr. Trevor screaming. "You think you've won? You'll lose everything as soon as Judge Anderson hears about this. You'll lose a brother, and my master will gain a son if he chooses!"

John couldn't remember the drive home, not the neck break speed, not the honking of horns blasting at his erratic driving, not even the close call between the Impala and Widow Macpherson's shopping cart, his only focus was the trembling bundle in his lap that he didn't dare let go of. Somehow they stopped in the driveway without incident, but that was all they could account for the last several minutes, the rest were a blur of disembodied sounds and pictures.

"Sammy, you ok kiddo?" John rasped out as he finally started to feel his heartbeat slow. He knew that he wouldn't get a verbal answer, but he had been hoping for something… more. Seeing that his baby brother was still terrified, he decided not to press the issue for the moment even though a ton of questions were racing through his mind. _How long had the doctor been possessed? Why didn't Sammy try to fight the man off? What did he mean about his master gaining a son?_ There were too many possibilities and at the moment all he wanted to do was get Sammy inside where it was safe before he attempted to figure out what else was going on.

"John!" Dean yelled as he raced out the door. "Judge Anderson's on the phone and he's wondering why you took Sammy out of his session with Dr. Trevor."

At the mention of the doctor's name, Sammy tensed up like a bow and started rocking in the confined space of his big brother's arms. He knew now that he would never be safe again, no matter what happened, and that scared him more than anything – his brothers would do anything to make sure he felt protected.

Opening the car door, John slowly edged out of the seat careful not to hurt Sammy in the process. Something was definitely going on with his little brother and he was going to find out what. "Dean, if the judge is still on the phone tell him I'll be right in, we need to talk about what that quack was doing to our little brother." Seeing the shocked look on Dean's face, John lost his patience. "Go Dean – now!"

It took only a minute to get the brothers together at the phone and while Dean was anxiously waiting to hear about what had happened, Sammy just wanted to find someplace to crawl into and hide.

"Your Honor, I'm sorry it took me so long to get to the phone, I had to calm Sammy down before I could even get him out of the car." John explained, wondering exactly how he was going to tell the judge what was going on without sounding like a complete lunatic and losing his brothers anyway.

"_John, you have to understand that forcibly removing Sam the way you did puts me in a very precarious situation. Dr. Trevor is one of the best psychologists in the area and although his mannerisms are sometimes grating, he gets excellent results. Now I'm sure you had your reasons for taking you brother the way you did, but threatening…"_

"Wait… I didn't threaten anyone sir, he was yelling and towering over Sammy. He scared my brother so bad he's still shaking." John exclaimed, hoping to get through to this man, this judge who held his family in his hands.

The sigh that echoed through the phone line didn't alleviate John's worries, but it was the following statement that had him more confused than ever.

"_Ok, I'll see what I can do John, but you need to listen carefully. There can be no more interference from you. Any other judge in my position would have already rendered his decision and after the reports I've been getting these last couple of weeks, I'm sorry to say it wouldn't have been in your favor. If you can show me marked improvement with Dean's behavior and Sam's school work, I'll do what I can."_

Puzzled, John hung up the phone and looked at Dean. "You haven't got into anymore fights, right?" he asked, before he looked at Sammy. "Hey kiddo, you're still making those ridiculously good grades, right?"

"The only fights I've gotten in are the ones I've told you about, and I haven't been called on them." Dean said while trying to figure out what he heard a moment ago. "John, what did he mean by the reports he's been getting the last couple of weeks? What reports?"

"I don't know Dean, but I have a feeling that they're not doing us any favors. Stay here with Sammy; I need to go up to the attic, ok?" John asked as he made his way to the hall. It didn't take long to climb the small ladder into the attic and as he looked around he felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness. This was where his parents had stored most of their keepsakes and it was a place that he and his brothers would hang out during those rare times that they didn't want to be bothered by the neighbor kids, to just be brothers just to themselves. Taking only another moment to look around, he forced himself to open the small panel in the ceiling and gather the items he had put there shortly after his parents died. Everyone assumed he paid off the house after his parents' death, but that wasn't the case, he'd been making the payments out of the insurance money, but he wanted to make sure that if something big came along they were ready. He hated to think that this might just be that something big.

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He looked into the mirror and thought with disgust about how frail this particular host really was, but there was nothing he could do about it now. The disappointment in not being able to find out what Azazel had said to the Winchester brat was muted by the knowledge that he was only a step away from having full access to the boy and it was enough to keep him imprisoned in the body of the arrogant psychologist named Dr. Trevor. Now if he could just get the rest of his allies in place, then everything could fall into place.

Reaching for the phone, he once again sneered at such an irritating device and punched in the numbers that would connect him to the one he needed to speak to the most.

"_Midtown Garage"_

"Did you do as I asked?"

"_Of course, no one suspects a thing."_

"I expect everything to go according to schedule, be ready."

Leaning back in the chair, he allowed himself to smile knowing that it was only a matter of time before the last obstacle was removed and he would have a clear path to the remaining Winchesters – and ultimately a clear path to his master's favor.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I hope you all like this one, I'll try to update once again more frequently now that things are starting to settle down. Take care!!! OH! Don't forget to let me know if you do like it!

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John glanced in the rear view mirror to check on his little brothers and was happy to see that Sammy was still sleeping as soundly as he could under the circumstances. It hadn't been easy convincing either of his brothers that he hadn't completely lost his mind when he had left the attic with only a bag and a whole new attitude, but somehow he knew that if they had any chance of keeping the wrong people from Sammy then they needed to make themselves scarce – immediately if not sooner.

Dean knew that his big brother had some sort of plan, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was a good one. When John had showed up with a large duffle bag filled with clothes and necessities for each of them and barking orders he had to admit he was sure the older boy had finally lost it, it wasn't until he laid it out on the line that made him think that maybe getting lost for awhile would be the best thing to do for now; after all, it's not like their friends were helping. Now though as he watched Sammy's breathing he started to doubt the wisdom of just taking off in the middle of the night, this could be the very thing that their enemies wanted them to do. Leaning back against the Impala's backseat he continued to stroke Sammy's hair in hopes of keeping the younger boy in peaceful slumber for a little while longer.

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Jim should have known that something was up just by the fact that Joshua had called him instead of Bobby, but it wasn't until he was halfway to his destination that that very thought crashed into his brain making him slam on the brakes and do a tight U-turn in the middle of the highway. As he slammed the palm of his hand against the steering wheel he felt ten times the fool for ever leaving the boys to their own devices even for the night and wouldn't blame any of them if they told him to leave and never come back.

It was just as long a drive to the Winchester house as it was away from it, and from the looks of it, it had been way too long. All the lights were off in the house and the driveway was empty, giving the house an abandoned feel to it. Not liking what he saw Jim quickly made his way to the side door and picked the lock knowing that if anyone was home they'd let their presence known if by no other means than the cocking of a shotgun.

When silence welcomed him after he swung the door opened, he knew that things were more dire than he initially thought. Rushing through the house he quickly surmised that there were no struggles giving him the impression that they had just calmly walked out of the house and didn't come back.

"What the hell are you thinking John?" he asked quietly to the stillness of the house before turning back towards the open doorway in hopes of finding a lead to which direction they had taken.

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It didn't take Sammy long to figure out where he was and who he was using as a pillow, but it did take a bit to remember why he was in the position he was in. When the memory of his big brother ordering them to the car came back he started to feel as if this were actually the nightmare and the darkness before was his real life – there was no way John would have just walked away from everything he knew and loved. The thought that his brother had done it before had managed to jump into his head and claw its way around for a few moments before his senses came back and was able to subdue that unwanted wayward thought.

"It's ok Sammy, I got you." Dean whispered as he continued to run his fingers through his little brothers dark curls.

Sammy looked up sleepily and saw that his brother was watching him closely, possibly in hopes of making sure not to scare him. Although he appreciated the effort, he knew that he was going to be scared no matter what and that was something he could do without. Cautiously he sat up and looked at John who was giving the Impala a workout on the long stretch of road. Curious, he looked back and Dean with a question in his eyes and wasn't surprised when all he received was a shrug of the shoulders for an answer.

"Hey buddy, how you feeling?" John asked as he glanced in the rear view mirror. Seeing the slight nod he smiled before he looked at the gas tank and sighed. "Ok, we need a fill up in more ways than one. The next place that has a restaurant attached we'll stop in, sound good to you?"

"Yeah John that sounds good… Sammy's still too skinny as it is, he can't miss anymore meals." Dean said with slight condemnation in his voice. It wasn't his idea to uproot the remaining members of their family in the middle of the night, and he'd be damned if he was going to let the smallest and more fragile of them get neglected in the process.

John felt guilty enough as it was but to be reminded of Sammy's continued weight loss was almost too much for him to handle at that moment. Taking in a deep breath he steeled himself for what needed to be done because if he was going to pull this off he couldn't afford any mistakes and that meant that being his little brothers' friend might have to take the backseat for awhile. His musings were interrupted by a hand pointing up ahead to a small diner with a gas pump to the side. Nodding, he eased the classic beauty into a space close to the front and quickly checked to make sure no one had followed them before allowing the others out of the car as well.

Sammy knew that something was going on but at the moment he couldn't figure out what it was. Both his brothers were acting strange and he had to wonder if it was all because of him or if there was something else going on. The only thing that he was sure of was that he wished that the past couple months had never happened, that their parents were still alive and there were all happy again. Feeling as if he was being stupid, he got out of the car dejectedly before he allowed himself to be herded into the diner for what he was sure was going to be another forced meal with forced conversation and a dash of forced banter tossed in for effect.

Looking between Dean and Sammy, John knew that he was about to make things worse, but it was something he was going to have to do so they would understand what was going on – not that he knew what was going on, but he did know that he needed to make sure both his brothers were safe and there was no way they were going to be that again at their old house, he just needed to figure out how he was going to explain that to his little brothers.

Dean knew John was mulling something over but also knew that they were running out of time to hash it all out before it didn't matter anymore. Waiting until the waitress left their water and silverware on the table, he finally decided it was now or never. He would always think back to that precise moment of when his oldest brother lost all composure when he asked, "So Johnny, mind telling us why we're now in the middle of God only knows where when we could still be asleep in our beds?"

John had just taken a drink of his ice water when Dean asked the one question that he had been dreading and now that he was not only choking, but spilling the water everywhere, he couldn't have answered if he had tried. It took a few minutes before the coughing settled and the tears finally dried before he looked at his little brothers and knew instantly that there was no way he was getting out of this without telling them the truth – he had no plan, they had no back up, and by now the law was probably on their asses just as much as those demons back home – yeah, that was something he really wanted to share. 'Well Hell.' He thought as he wished, not for the first time, that he had a stronger drink handy.

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After getting hold of both Joshua and Bobby, Jim allowed himself to relax for a moment before he started making other phone calls to see if there were any signs that the boys were planning on leaving, signs that he and the others had missed. It wasn't until he found the bank receipts for the mortgage payments that he suddenly felt as if his stomach had dropped to his feet; the boys were still making payments.

Armed with this new information he set about the house to try and gather up as much information as he could find and came up with hardly anything of use – mainly because the only thing he could really tell was missing was Sammy's journal, but then again it could just be hidden really well. Sighing he took a moment and thought about the foolishness of that thought before checking the time and saw that he could now get hold of more people and possibly piece this whole situation together, then again what was there to piece together? The boys were being backed into a corner and without others to back them up, they left – end of story.

The sound of Bobby's truck pulling into the driveway made him take another look around the house before rushing out and motioned the other man to keep the engine running.

"We screwed up old man… their gone and they didn't leave a sign to where they're heading." Jim growled out as he slipped into the passenger seat and slammed the door.

Bobby hadn't known what to expect, but he knew that this wasn't it. Letting out a slight growl of his own, he peeled out of the drive and headed towards the highway. It was a long shot, but they had a fifty - fifty chance of which direction the eldest Winchester boy had rushed off to, at least that's what he told himself all the while trying not to think of all the back roads and cow paths that they could have pulled off onto.

'We'll find them.' Bobby thought as the images of what could happen to them played out in his mind. "No, we'll find them!" he vowed aloud, ignoring the shocked look on Jim's face.

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Dean refused to give in and even ignored Sammy's silent plea not to start a fight. If their big brother was going to drag them all over the damn place, then didn't they have to right to know what the plan was… or even if there was one?

"Dean, look kiddo, I know that this whole situation sucks, but you have to trust me, ok?" John asked as he tried to convey silently the reason why he didn't want to get into this right now. There was no way he wanted to freak out their baby brother any more than he was already.

"Nope, sorry Johnny, you need to do better than that. What the hell is going on and what makes you think you can do things better than anyone else?" Dean demanded before he chanced a glance at Sammy and seeing his shocked brother's face. Yeah, he knew he was being an ass but this whole situation was ridiculous.

John took a deep breath as he tried to form his thoughts into a seamless stream instead of the jumbled mess it seemed to be at the moment. Looking between his little brothers he suddenly felt the weight of what he'd done crush him and he had to wonder if he was doing the right thing after all. Then he caught a glimpse of the increased tremors that were skating over Sammy's small frame and he knew that any doubt he had would get them all killed. Making up his mind, he nodded. "Ok, you're right; you need to know why we left. That doctor was possessed and making Sammy think that he was the cause of all of this. Too make matters worse he wanted our little brother to tell him something that he probably doesn't even know. When I got home and talked to Judge Anderson I knew that things weren't going to go in our favor and there's no way I'm going to risk losing you two to a system that has no idea what's really out there."

Stunned, Dean could only stare at John for a moment before he pulled Sammy closer to his side to try to soothe the younger boy's fears. It was obvious that his baby brother was terrified, but trying to put on a brave front for his older brothers. God, how he loved the kid.

"I took mom and dad's insurance money and here we are. I figure that if we stay on the road for awhile that we might be able to lose anyone or anything trying to trail us, at least until we figure out what else to do. I know I should have told you what I was doing, but it just felt like if we didn't go right then, then we wouldn't be able to." John said quietly as he drank more of his water and hoped that he wouldn't have to justify his actions anymore.

Sammy looked between his brothers and knew that he was the reason why they had to leave home and it hurt. Looking down at his hands he tried to will himself away. So lost in his thoughts he had lost track of time and was startled when Dean shook his shoulder slightly to get his attention. Raising his attention he saw that not only had he missed the waitress coming back for their order, but that his brothers ordered for him and he was now facing not only a large breakfast that he had no way of knowing how he was going to eat, but also the concerned looks on his brothers faces. Sighing, he chose to ignore their questions in favor of tackling the short stack in front of him with one thought running through his mind. 'I'll find a way to stop this. I have to… even if the yellow eyed man kills me.'


	9. Chapter 9

AU: Sorry this one is so short... I'll try to do better next time!

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He missed them more than he could say because if he actually said it out loud then it would bring it home on a whole other level. If they were here then dad would already have a plan and mom would give her patented smile to let them know that everything was alright. That was the problem though – they weren't there, and in fact if they were then none of them would be in this mess to begin with.

Taking a deep breath, John looked in the backseat and smiled at the sight of Dean and Sammy curled up together lost in their own little world sound asleep. He knew that Dean didn't trust him right now and that Sammy didn't trust anyone, but he knew that this was for the best; if they were separated, there would be no one to watch over his little brothers and that was totally unacceptable.

As the sun began to peek through the tree line, he was thankful that he had learned years ago to stay awake for days if needed. It saved a lot of time and he was able to get a lot more done without the normal interruptions. As he continued down the road though he allowed his mind to drift to one of the few times he had been allowed to hunt with his dad without everyone else around. They had been after a banshee and after two days of tracking the sightings it became obvious that it was just a bunch of teenagers who had set out to terrify their neighbors. Normally they would have left the area disgusted with the obvious waste of time, but for some reason Dad had wanted to stick around and see how far it went. Chuckling at the memory, John could still remember the screeching of one of the teens' mothers when she caught her boy and his friends in the act. After watching her take a broom over the boy's head a few times all the while screaming at the top of her lungs, he had been surprised to see his dad laughing all the while trying to stutter out 'guess we know who he patterned the banshee after.' It had taken them days not to laugh out loud when either of them remembers that, but what was even funnier was the indignant looks on his brothers faces when they found out that he and their dad shared something that they weren't a part of. Now that would never happen again – there would be no more inside jokes, no more side glances that would send them both into gales of laughter while everyone else stopped and stared.

He chanced another glance at the backseat and finally admitted to himself what he'd been feeling all this time; he felt alone. As crazy as it sounded with his two brothers in the backseat, he truly felt alone in the world and he had no idea what to do about it.

Once again lost in his thoughts, allowing the Impala to make its own way down the narrow road while he only applied pressure to the accelerator or slightly adjusted the steering, basically on autopilot in an effort to not think too much while at the same time failing miserably at that process, he didn't notice the small warm body make its way over the back of the seat until its warmth was already nestled up against him in the attempt to give him the comfort he didn't realize he was missing. Looking down he saw Sammy curled up at his side and he smiled, the knowledge that we was only as alone as he wanted to be set now firmly in his brain.

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Judge Anderson could not believe what he had just been told – the Winchester brothers were gone! He received the phone call not even five minutes ago and still hadn't wrapped his head around it. As he looked at the file before him once again he had to wonder what was going through their heads if they thought this was going to go unnoticed. Hearing a strong knock on his office door he groaned before granting admittance since he already knew who it was going to be.

"You know we shouldn't be seen together, especially right now." He said crossly as he stood and reached over to grab his hanging robe. He knew he had another ten minutes before his first case but he really didn't want this meeting to get out of hand – so far he'd managed to hold his own, but even he was going to have to pay the piper one day.

The man who had walked into the judge's chambers looked on in amusement – he knew he didn't have to remind the man before him the debt that was owed, but he wasn't there to rub the insignificant knat's nose in it. "I have no idea what you're talking about your Honor, I'm just here to check on the heater – we got a work order that it wasn't working properly."

Knowing that there was no way to get around the imposter in front of him; Anderson nodded and motioned to the chairs in front of the desk. When he acknowledged that the man wasn't going to sit, he continued to stand as well and watched warily the amusement that flickered across the face that he was looking at.

"So, John took his little brothers and ran. What are your people doing about it?"

"The police have been notified to keep a look out for them. They've only been told that I want to make sure they're alright and not to make any moves against them at this time." Judge Anderson said quietly, hoping that no one would walk in and hear what was being discussed.

Laughing, the man allowed his eyes to flicker yellow, and then enjoyed the horrified look on the pathetic figure before him. "You'll tell them that new information has come to you and you believe that the eldest Winchester has kidnapped his brothers during what you believe is a psychotic break. You'll notify that wonderful agency that takes in abandoned and abused children, and you'll fill them in on what you tell the police, then when they find them, you'll make sure that they're separated. Do we understand each other?"

The judge continued to stare at the now empty spot before him, not bothering to wonder how he got himself into this position – he already knew and he wish he could kill himself for it.

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Caleb could not believe what was going on. It was bad enough that two of his good friends had been murdered during a hunt, but now their boys were gone and he couldn't help but wonder how he could have prevented it. Of course the answer was simple – they should never have left them alone. However it was too late now, now he and the others needed to find the boys and figure out what the hell was going on because there was no way he was willing to chalk everything up to coincidence, that would just be too convenient and that was something that never happened in a hunter's life.

Sighing, he allowed his frustration to surface a moment before tucking it away once again. Being on the road with hardly any communication with the others was starting to wear thin on him, but it had been close to a week now since they lost contact with the boys and he couldn't help but worry that they were running out of time to find them and that made him push himself even harder; often ignoring the protests and suggestions of his friends. Something wasn't right about this whole situation and the only thing he could do was chase after leads that didn't seem to make sense half the time.

Flipping the radio off he worried about the news reports that were already making their way across the country claiming that Johnny had kidnapped both Dean and Sammy while suffering from some sort of mental break due to the stress of his parents' deaths. It was something that they didn't need, and he knew the boys would find a place to hide and not come out for a very long time; which scared him more than the thought of facing the demon that was on their asses. He knew John would keep the boys as safe as possible, but with Sammy still affected by whatever happened that night, he was positive that it was going to throw the older boys off in their tactics which made finding them all the more important.

Seeing a turn off, he slowed down only slightly and that's when he saw it – the dark car that suddenly appeared into his rear view mirror, allowing Caleb to understand that he'd been shadowed for awhile. Not knowing who it was, and not caring what they wanted, he took the turn fast and relished in the thought that the dust being kicked up from the dirt road would help hide him for a bit while he figured out exactly what to do because right now he was drawing a blank, only knowing that he needed to get rid of his pursuers so he could get back to what was more important – finding the Winchester brothers.


	10. Chapter 10

The night was yielding an almost full moon, giving light to the forest and the small cabin nestled within it. Normally abandoned, it would have been a shock to anyone close by that there was smoke coming out of the chimney; however the area had long been forgotten as more resorts had cropped up offering more amenities than a rustic vacation. A sleek black car was mostly hidden from view by an old tarp found in the lean to that had once served as a shed as well as a few well placed branches to keep the chrome from becoming a beacon in the night. Inside, the early winter chill was warded off by the fire that had taken over the fireplace giving off a warm glow throughout the room as it did its job effortlessly.

John stood and watched the limbs sway gently back and forth in the path of the slight wind that blew along its own way, making way for the colder weather in its wake. He knew that they were going to have to stay in one spot for awhile and take precautions that no one and nothing could track them; the news reports had already made the national syndicates limiting his options in keeping his brothers with him. Knowing that Dean had already checked the cabinets and pantry finding several cans of fruits and vegetables which gave them a head start in the provisions department made him feel a lot better about the situation but they were still planning on getting an early start in the morning to see if they could trap a couple of animals for dinner, even if it meant that Sammy was going to face his aversion in killing Bambi. He didn't know how long they were going to have to stay there, but there was no way he was going to let his baby brother get sicker under his care.

"John, Sammy finally fell asleep. Did he say anything to you earlier?" Dean asked quietly, hoping that their little brother had opened up even if it meant he hadn't been conscious to witness it.

Shaking his head John continued to look out the window before turning back towards his little brother. "No – nothing. I don't know what's going on with him, but I'm hoping we can figure it out before…"

Dean didn't need John to fill in the blank; he already knew and even agreed. Their little brother had been slowly withdrawing into himself ever since they left Lawrence. Neither one of them had actually noticed it at first, not with him making an effort to stay close to the eldest brother that first night, but afterwards it was like someone had slowly turned a dimmer switch in Sammy to where now he would barely acknowledge their existence. At this rate they were worried that their baby brother would completely drift off and they wouldn't be able to bring him back.

"He did eat, right?" John asked, suddenly remembering the earlier lunch that had sat untouched by the youngest member of their group. Worried, he was about to rush into the other room to rouse the boy when he felt a strong hand on his arm.

Looking into John's eyes, Dean stated firmly. "Leave him alone. I made sure he took a couple bites of beef jerky and some M&M's, he's not going to starve – not yet anyway." Seeing his older brother slowly sag in relief, he tried to smile. "Hey, think of it this way – with him being so tired, he won't be able to leave us in the middle of the night."

At first all John could do was stare until he realized what Dean was trying to do. "Yeah, you're right. Of course it's no big deal to me 'cause I'm still in pretty decent shape, I can catch up to him, but you – well, let's just say that's an area of concern."

Dean gave a snort of laughter before he jumped on John and tried to bring the bigger boy down to the ground. It took a few minutes before they realized they weren't alone and the sight of their little brother scared them both. The younger boy was sweating profusely and his eyes were wide and wild giving him a crazed look that belied his true state of confusion. As both of them rushed to his side, Sammy suddenly felt frustrated that he couldn't tell them what was wrong, that Caleb was in trouble and needed help – now!

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Jim had no idea what to think anymore. He and Bobby had been trying to find the Winchester boys for almost a week, but there were no leads to go off of – even the friends he had in shady places couldn't pick up the trail which really made the man worry that it was already too late. To make matters worse though, Caleb had jumped off the radar the day before and it didn't set right with him at all.

"You need to quit thinking so loud, it's not helping the situation any." Bobby said as he started on his second cup of coffee. As he looked at the man in front of him he wondered not for the first time what had made the man do it – then again it wasn't really any of his business. "So, why did you leave the church Jim?" he blurted out, biting his tongue in the effort to take back the question. _Damn it!_

Sighing, Jim knew that this conversation was well overdue, but in all honesty he never thought it would have been Bobby to ask – that would have been more Max's area of inquiry. "Several reasons really. Why, you writing a book?" he asked sourly. Seeing the slightly shocked look on his friend's face he knew where the question really came from and he could have kicked himself for being so idiotic – his friends had never second guessed his decision, always sensing that his reasons were his own and he'd share when he was ready. "I guess I got tired of not being able to help those who really needed it because of all the red tape I was tied up in."

Bobby thought about that for a minute before he nodded and asked, "Anything particular?"

"As you know the Catholic church has a committee to decide if an exorcism should be done and another to validate reports of miracles. Do you know how many exorcisms are allowed, or how many miracles are validated? Not near enough." Jim said heavily. He had always prayed that he'd be allowed to forget, but the memories seemed to get more vivid with age. "A grandfather came to me one day insisting that his granddaughter was possessed and was in need of help. At first I was skeptical, after all it could have just been a case of a spoiled child acting out – only it wasn't. Little Maria had every sign of a demonic possession but when the Vatican investigated, they insisted that there was nothing they could do. A small child was dying, but they refused to help saying that if news got out that they were going to perform such an archaic ritual, the church would have a black eye and that was something they couldn't allow."

"Why do I have the feeling that you didn't accept that?" Bobby asked, now more than just a little interested. He and the others had had their suspicions, but this was something that they hadn't really thought about.

Nodding, Jim took another sip of coffee before beginning again. "The grandfather begged me to help her and I couldn't say no. I did the exorcism, even taking the time to do it carefully in hopes of keeping her alive, but it had been too long and her poor body couldn't handle any more – she died in her grandfather's arms. Then she woke up."

Bobby sat stunned and stared at his friend; sure he was imagining what was said.

"There was a light that surrounded her and a voice that seemed to vibrate every cell in my body that said, 'It is not your time little one. Awaken so you may continue your purpose for your Father.' Bobby, she had been dead for fifteen minutes, her grandfather wouldn't let anyone close to her to try and bring her back. When she woke up she smiled and said that she hadn't been scared because Jesus stayed with her the whole time."

"Ok, I'm hearing a pretty good story for why you should stay in the church, not why you should leave it." Bobby said wryly, trying to figure out where this story was really taking them.

Smiling slightly, Jim sighed. "Yeah, you'd think that wouldn't you? You would think that the Vatican would report this to every news agency in the world, right? They didn't. They claimed that I overstepped my boundaries, and that I should think about going on a sabbatical to renew my faith in the church's decisions – that they knew best in this sort of thing. To make matters worse, they claimed that the whole situation was a farce, a trick to make them look bad and that there had been no possession and no intervention, thereby no miracle. How was I supposed to stay after that? How could they help people when they don't even believe in what they are helping deliver the people from? I realized that it was time for me to take my knowledge, my talents, and really do something to fight the evil in the world. That's why I left."

Bobby didn't know what to say. They had known something extreme had to have happened for their friend to leave his service to God. Suddenly it occurred to him – Jim hadn't left his service to God, he had just taken it to the trenched full time. Smiling he looked at the former priest, "Good, they didn't deserve your stubborn ass."

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The pain that was shooting fireworks off in his skull actually helped to bring Caleb around to the land of the living, not that he really wanted to though since he had no idea what happened or where he was. The last thing he remembered was trying to outrun the car that had been following him and thinking that he had done a pretty good job of kicking up the dust so he could double back to the road – obviously that hadn't worked out as well as he thought it would.

Looking around he found himself in a room that looked oddly familiar and he wondered what the hell was going on. As he slowly got out of the bed he noticed the smells and sounds coming from another part of the house. Not sure he really wanted to know the answer to what his brain was asking, he continued out the door, through the hallway and into the open space which housed the kitchen, dining area and living room. The sunlight was bright for any normal day, but with his headache it was completely blinding.

"Oh my… here dear, let me get these shades for you."

With the light suddenly dimmed, Caleb was able to get his breathing under control and look up and around the room again before his gaze settled upon the smaller figure in front of him. Shocked, he could only stand and stare before he found his voice and croaked, "Gramma?"

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It had been a quiet night - the moon playing in the trees, the animals nestled in their homes. However there was an unnatural sound within the wooded area the sound of an engine idling with an accompanying sound of wheels as they continued to spin freely in the air. The vehicle that both the engine and tires belonged to was resting on its roof at the bottom of an embankment not visible from the small dirt road, its lone occupant unconscious and bleeding; oblivious of the danger he was in.

A woman's body might not have been its first choice, but it still accomplished what needed to be done. Her orders had been simple, get rid of the hunter – eventually. Right now though, she was having a blast watching the human squirm helplessly inside his own mind. Sure, she didn't put him there, but it was a sure sign that her job was made easier as the man's body was slowly shutting down. Too bad she wouldn't be able to get any information from him.

Sighing, she bent down and reached into his pocket for his wallet, looking through it a moment before removing the cash and credit cards that were in it. "Caleb, Caleb, Caleb… what am I going to do with you?" she asked smiling at the thought of the things she could have done before he died. Tossing his ID to the side of the truck she smiled once more before she turned and walked away. "Guess I'll have to find little Sammy another way."


	11. Chapter 11

AN: This one's for Mouse95 and Sammygirl1963 who have both been very patiently prodding me to get back to the brothers. So girls, I hope you like this one!

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Sammy had no idea how he was going to let his brothers know that they needed to help Caleb, but he knew he needed to find a way fast. Seeing their distressed looks, he ran past them and unzipped all three duffle bags that they had sat next to the door just in case they ever had to leave in a hurry. He knew he saw it in one of them, but now he couldn't remember which one and … finally!

Dean looked at John worried as they both watched their little brother race around and practically ransack their duffles before he suddenly popped up with the atlas in his hands in triumph. He had no idea what he should think, but it was obvious in what he should do so he looked over Sammy's shoulder and worried that his brother was frantically looking over their current location on the map before he suddenly stopped and pointed someplace another state away.

"Sammy, what's going on?" John asked as he joined the other two at the table. When he saw what they were looking at he couldn't help but worry about what Sammy meant. Was he pointing out where they needed to be, or where a threat was? "We need a little more to go on kiddo. How about you fill us in on what's going on."

Looking at his big brother, Sammy once again pointed at the spot on the map, this time with the end of a pen. When he saw the blank look on his brothers' faces he got more frustrated and stabbed a hole through the paper right where he knew Caleb was. It wasn't fair – he hadn't tried to tell his brothers about the man with yellow eyes, but still he came to him and warned him what he would do if he did, even going so far as to happily tell him that he would make sure he never would. He hadn't understood at first, but when he started having trouble writing notes in his journal he worried, when it got to the point that he could only draw and even that was slowly being taken away did he fully understand what was happening. Yellow eyes was going to make sure he didn't talk, one way or another. Now he had to face the possibility that he couldn't help Caleb, and that was unacceptable. Looking back and forth from John and Dean and knew he was freaking them out, but they didn't know how much he was too. Finally an idea hit him and he could have slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner. Quickly reaching into Dean's pocket he pulled out his big brother's wallet and found the picture he was looking for, the one with all of them together including the other hunters that they considered family. With one final glance at his brothers, he pointed at Caleb in the picture then the map until he saw understanding finally dawn on their faces.

"Sammy, you trying to tell us that Caleb is there and is in trouble?" John asked before running his hand through his hair in frustration. 'Of course he is idiot; quit making him out to be Lassie.' He thought, totally disgusted with himself. Seeing the relief in his baby brother's face though told him more than he wanted to know – whatever was going on with Sammy was getting worse, and he had no idea how to fix it.

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Caleb knew it had to be a dream, but he also knew that he'd have to be asleep in order to dream and he distinctly remembered driving, not sleeping. Looking at the woman who was a dead ringer for his late grandmother, he had to wonder what was going on.

"My dear Caleb, please calm down, you're hurt and the aggravation you're feeling isn't helping any."

"Gramma Hannah? I'm sorry, but you can't be… I mean… you're dead and I know for a fact that…"

"That I was put to rest the right way? Of course I was dear, but you need to realize something – I'm here to help you right now and that's more important than anything else. Now, why don't you sit down and I'll fill you in on what I know?" Caleb's Gramma stated kindly as she sat down and beckoned for him to do the same. When she saw she had his full attention, she smiled and reached out to touch his face. "Always a handsome boy, and now you've grown up to be a fine man. I'm proud of you Caleb, don't ever doubt that, but you sure have got yourself into a pickle haven't you?"

Caleb smirked a little, relishing this moment with the woman who had taken care of him for so many years. Not knowing what else to do he nodded, hoping that she'd fill him in on what was going on.

"Let's see, where to start. Oh yes… that demon who's watching you right now and wishing she could get her hooks into you. Oh don't look so surprised young man; you'd be surprised how much you learn about what's really going in life once you're dead." Gramma Hannah stated with a wry smile. "Too bad most of us aren't privy to it during life, huh? Now back to business. You need to hang on. I have it on very good authority that help is on the way, but you can't give in to what that demon… _witch _wants. You can't allow her into your mind otherwise she'll have you twisted every way to Sunday, do you understand me young man?"

Having no idea what to say, Caleb shook his head. He really had no clue what his Gramma was talking about, or for that matter how the hell she was able to talk to him to begin with. Frustrated, he was about to question her further when he noticed the walls wobble and the woman he was facing begin to change.

"Oh Caleb, I'm so sorry… my time wasn't as long as I thought. Remember what I told you… be strong, help is coming." Then she was gone, leaving a very confused Caleb sitting not at the kitchen table, but standing at a deserted crossroads, knowing that this change could not be a good thing.

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She had long forgotten her name, but loved the feel of her meat suit's name as it passed her lips – Tara. Although it didn't seem to be an exotic name, nothing close to the feel of the body she currently inhabited, it was one that she could work with very well in luring others in her trap until she was done and tossed her victims to the side. Maybe that was the main reason she was so irritated when her initial attempt to enter Caleb's mind failed, he was an easy enough target, but one that would have given her great satisfaction in breaking.

It wasn't until she was about to leave the broken body of the hunter when she felt a tiny shift and knew that it was her opportunity to try again. It didn't take much effort to slide in as the other entity was fading away, now she knew that his loyalty to his family was everything for him, and that would be the exact weapon she would use to destroy him.

Watching as the scenery changed from a small kitchen to a dark crossroads, Tara smiled and with a great new confidence, she strode forward until she was behind the hunter close enough to touch. "Boo!"

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John knew that he either packed everyone up in the car and went after Caleb, which would put Sammy in the most danger, or go himself and leave both his little brothers defenseless. Neither option sounded good, but what else could he do? He looked over and saw the exhausted form of his baby brother being rocked on the couch by Dean and knew that he needed a new plan – Sammy couldn't handle much else at the moment and there was no way he wanted to leave Dean with the sole responsibility to keep them both safe until he got back. Once again he looked at the map and saw that he wouldn't be able to get there until tomorrow afternoon if he drove straight through, and that didn't set well with him.

Dean finally stood and walked over to John and watched his older brother ponder a decision that was obviously a hard one. "You know, you don't have to make all the decisions on your own." He said quietly, hoping to not wake Sammy up.

"I know kiddo, but there's not much I can do here you know and if Caleb needs us then…"

"Why don't you run up to the next town and call Joshua or Jim? They both check their answering machines often enough and they could probably get word out pretty quickly or maybe if you got hold of Bobby…"

It didn't take long for John to know that Dean had a point. If he didn't want to put his brothers in harm's way, then he'd have to find someone to get to Caleb. Sure he could call the authorities and tell them the general area, but without knowing what was really going on he couldn't send someone into what could very well be a supernatural firestorm. Sighing, he dug through his father's journal until he found the notes in the back with the latest addition added – Bobby's cell phone number. He remembered when the hunter had gotten the latest piece of technology and how they all had laughed seeing as how there was nothing about Bobby Singer that was new, but he explained with his own brand of humor as well as explicative's that it was for the salvage and he could take it off on his taxes as a business expense – which got everyone laughing even harder. Now though John couldn't believe his luck their friend had one and hoped that Bobby knew would be able to get someone to Caleb before it was too late.

Nodding, he gave a quick grin to Dean and walked to Sammy to make sure he was in a deep sleep before he rushed out the door to uncover the Impala and get going. He knew that Dean would be in hunter mode until he got back, but he still couldn't help but worry about his brothers and leaving them in the cabin by themselves, even for a short time… anything could happen, and he would never forgive himself if it did while he wasn't there to help. Taking a deep breath to steel himself for what he had to do, he started the car and carefully made his way out of the forest, watching for any threat along the way before he got to the main road and let the engine take over. The sooner he got help to Caleb, the sooner he could get back to his little brothers.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: This chapter has taken longer to put together than I think any other than I've ever worked on. With that being said, I really really really hope you all like it. :)

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John was beyond stressed, he was borderline psychotic by the time he made it not to the small store he had been planning, but to the fourth in a fifteen mile radius since someone had decided to smash the pay phones and it took him longer than he expected to find a store clerk willing to let him use their phone behind the counter. He was low on patience and it was dropping rapidly at the thought of how long he'd left Dean and Sammy alone at the cabin.

The call was just connecting when a thought slammed in his head with enough force that he not only forgot what he was doing, but didn't recognize the voice that was currently growling in his ear through the receiver.

"_So help me, you either talk or when I find out who the hell this is…"_

Surprised, John looked down at his hand and realized that he was actually hearing Bobby. "Sorry Bobby. Look, Caleb's in trouble – he's off Interstate 65 North of Roselawn. Find him fast, I have to go." He said as he rushed out the door, praying he was wrong, praying he hadn't been played.

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Dean watched Sammy sleep on the couch as he stood by the fireplace, allowing the sounds of the night to wash over him. It wasn't like his baby brother to be this tired, but then again, with everything else seemingly going downhill, why wouldn't the kid's energy level? Refusing to get caught up in his dark thoughts, he moved to look out the window and paused when he noticed that even the wind had stopped moving. He didn't believe in coincidences, he was taught that those didn't exist. So now he had to wonder what was out there, and how close it was really.

The slight rustling of Sammy moving alerted Dean that whatever was out there was getting closer and wasn't there for coffee. Worse yet, John hadn't gotten back which was a whole other worry, but one he couldn't think about right now – he had bigger issues to deal with at the moment.

"Sammy… hey little brother, wake up." He said quietly as he reached the boy's side. Seeing that Sammy was caught up in a nightmare, he tried to watch both the window and his brother, but he knew a moment too late that whatever had been watching them was coming… coming… here.

The door swung open and slammed against the wall, leaving crumbled plaster from where the doorknob hit it. A man with strange yellow eyes walked in and smiled at the boy lying on the couch, ignoring the teen to his side.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy… I'm surprised at you. I've warned you about this, but I guess I'm just going to have to give you another lesson."

The stranger's attitude was bad enough, but for him to actually threaten his baby brother was too much. Dean pulled his gun, knowing it was loaded with blessed silver and open fired into the man's chest. Feeling pleased with the strangers screams, Dean was completely unprepared from the laughter that followed immediately after.

"Oh did you really think that something like that would hurt someone like me, boy?" he asked as he slowly turned his attention to Dean. This wasn't what he came to do, but sometimes a child needed to learn some manners. His smile wasn't kind or warm, but cold as he his gaze locked onto Dean's form and watched the teen body slam forcefully into the wall, narrowly missing the fireplace. "Now, how about letting me finish my discussion with little Sammy here, then you and I can finish ours."

Dean tried to pry himself off the wall, but could barely twitch his muscles. He'd dealt with spirits and even demons before, but this one seemed to be filled with high octane as far as strength went. Movement on the couch caught his attention and he knew instantly that his baby brother was now fully awake, aware, and scared to the point of near hysteria. He was about to give some comforting words when something in Sammy's eyes broke through; 'He knows this guy.' He thought, horrified at the prospect of Sammy having already running into this demon without…

"Damn it – get away from him!" Dean shouted as the man walked over to Sammy. He might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he definitely could figure out what they had been missing – this was the demon that had been tormenting his little brother, and if he had anything to say about it, it was going to stop now! "Hey! I said leave him alone… what, you making up for some insecurities so you have to pick on a little boy? Come on – pick on someone your own size!" he continued to yell even though he knew it wasn't going to do any good. He could only hope that John would make it back in time. In time for what he had no idea, he only knew that Sammy was in trouble and it was getting worse by the second.

Sammy watched at the yellow eyed man got closer and knew that there was no way he could get away from him. Dean was trapped and John was gone, so that left him alone to face his nightmare. What was worse, even if he could fight, he wasn't sure he should – he'd seen what this thing could do first hand and he knew he couldn't survive losing his brothers. Tears were starting to fall as the demon got closer with his outstretched hand and he knew it was only a matter of moments before he would most likely become completely lost. Just as he was sure it was going to happen, he heard a shout from the doorway causing everyone's attention to turn.

"Sammy, Down!" John yelled as he opened fired on the stranger. He hadn't been there long, but by the sight of Dean being pressed against the wall and his baby brother in tears on the couch, he knew that this wasn't a situation to stand by and ask questions. He felt a sliver of happiness to see Sammy drop as they taught him, but that happiness quickly chanced to horror when he realized that none of his bullets were doing anything but fueling the bastard's amusement.

'We are so screwed!' he thought as he was flung through the air into the opposite wall, before everything went dark.

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Caleb stood at the crossroads and wondered what was going on. One minute he was visiting with his dead grandmother, the next…

"Boo!"

Turning, he saw a girl, a woman really, standing in the middle of the road as if she were extremely proud of herself. Having no idea what was really going on, he could only play along until he found something that seemed familiar and grab hold.

"Let me guess… you must be the Wicked Witch of the West." Caleb said with more confidence than he felt. He had no idea what was going on, but he'd be damned if he showed it.

Tara smiled and watched as Caleb put on an air of indifference – too bad she could see right through it. He was nervous, confused, and yes – scared out of his mind over what was going on. Oh yeah, she was about to have loads of fun.

"Aw, now why would you want to hurt my feeling like that? After all, you're the one who called me. Now… what is it that you need?" she asked, pretending to be supportive in his needs, but inwardly she was just waiting for the right moment to bring this hunter to his knees.

Caleb looked at the woman before him and knew that this had to be what his Gramma warned him about. Turning back around, he started down the dark road, ignoring her voice behind him. If he could just find something familiar he'd be fine, otherwise he'd just wander around until he became well and truly lost.

'Yeah, that's a good one Caleb.' He thought sourly, already knowing he was about as lost as he could get.

He continued to walk and was pretty sure that she wasn't following which suited him just fine; something about her made his skin crawl. Noticing a faint light up ahead, he quickened his pace in an effort to reach the light and maybe get an idea of where he was. It wasn't until he heard her voice as if she were right behind his ear that he stopped suddenly, knowing that he hadn't heard her correctly.

"You know, if little Sammy could see you now, he'd be disgusted. Looks like he's going to lose that bet with my boss afterall." Tara said slyly as she stood patiently and waited for the inevitable.

Not believing what he was hearing, Caleb fought himself for a few moments before he turned on the woman and demanded, "What did you say? Let me tell you something you little witch, I don't care who or what you think you are, you don't ever talk about that boy again – UNDERSTAND!?!"

Tara laughed and shook her head before she turned her back on the hunter and began to walk away. "Fine, have it your way Caleb. After all, you know best, right. But ask yourself this little bitty question: How did I know where to find you, even though you have no idea where you are yourself?"

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Jim held on and didn't utter a word, instead suffering in silence as Bobby pushed his truck to the very brink risking parts falling off as much as it was vibrating. Not that he could blame the man. The call they received from John was more than a little disturbing and one that they knew they had to respond to quickly. However, they would be able to do more good if they got to their destination in one piece.

"Don't say a word, Jim." Bobby muttered as he maneuvered through traffic before speeding up even more. It wasn't necessarily what the eldest Winchester boy had said that was disturbing, but what he hadn't said. There was no way that the kid would have called if he had planned on going to Caleb himself, and there was no way he wouldn't have gone to help out a fellow hunter if he'd been able. Which left him with an uneasy conclusion; something was terribly wrong, and he had the feeling it had to do with Sammy.

Again, Jim said nothing. He knew better than to further enrage the man next to him – too many close calls in the field taught him that. He could only hope that whatever it was that had Bobby this worried, would be able to wait until they found Caleb and could tackle it together.

The mile marker for Roselawn showed another twenty miles, but Bobby and Jim both knew that what they were looking for was actually closer than that. They had to slow down considerably since it was dark, and they were using a less traveled road as was their normal tendencies – if Caleb was close by, he'd be on that particular stretch. It was another ten minutes of slow driving, and neck stiffening searching before they saw it – what looked to be a vehicle on its side down the embankment further up the road.

After getting as close as they dared with the truck, both Bobby and Jim took the flashlights out of the glovebox and rushed to the vehicle, trying not to fall into chuckholes or trip over rocks while doing so. It didn't take long to reach it, but once they got a decent look at their friend, they had to worry that they had been too late. Blood was covered Caleb's face and neck and his arms lay limply against the ground. What had them the most concerned though was Caleb's lower body was trapped underneath his own vehicle – it had rolled over on top of him.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: This is for Mouse who's birthday is today... I hope you really like it! Take care, and I know you're going to have a great year!

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John groaned at the pain that was blooming behind his eyes. He knew he needed his vision to clear, he needed to help his little brothers, but at the moment his body seemed to want to betray him. He could hear Dean cursing at the demon, and the demon speaking to Sammy, but at the moment he couldn't do a damn thing to try to get any of them out of this situation.

Finally, the darkness faded away and his vision slowly came back but he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. In fact, he was pretty sure he wasn't seeing it – it was a weird dream brought on by the obvious concussion from being tossed into the wall. His baby brother could not possibly be binding the very demon that tore their family apart.

"Stop Sammy… whatever you're doing little brother – STOP!!!" Dean screamed as he fought to get off the wall, but whatever Sammy was doing wasn't enough to completely neuter the demon possessed man.

"What do you think you are doing Sammyboy?" the stranger growled at the youngest Winchester. "Do you really think you can stop me?"

As the older brothers stared in shock, the smallest of them weakly braced himself against the couch, eyes wide as he concentrated on the imposing figure in front of him. Sweat poured off him as he held his ground even as the man with yellow eyes fought back, making him worry that he wasn't strong enough. He heard the man's taunt, but it was what he heard in the man's head that frightened him even more.

'_Don't worry little boy, when I'm done with you, your brothers are next… I'll be generous though, their deaths will be quick – painful, but quick.'_

It was then that Sammy knew he needed to end this… somehow. He knew he wasn't strong enough, but he had to try… his brothers couldn't die, not because of him. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself against the pain and silently promised his brothers that everything would be alright now, even as he forced himself towards the man, even as he grabbed hold of the body of the host, even as he felt the power burst through them in a painful blaze, sinking him deep into the unwelcoming abyss, his brothers screams following him the whole way.

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Dean couldn't get off the wall and it was more than a little frustrating. Here he was less than ten feet away from his little brother and he couldn't do anything to keep the bastard away. To make matters worse, John was down too… leaving Sammy to deal with the demon by himself.

Hearing a faint moan from John's direction he managed to look over and see his big brother coming around and although he felt relief, he knew that it was most likely too little, too late. He was determined though to give it everything he had to not leave Sammy alone in dealing with this monster, and started screaming at the bastard to let his little brother go, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. It wasn't until he heard the other man that he understood that his Sammy was fighting back, and no matter how much it was making him proud of the kid… it scared him just as much.

He was about to yell out, when he noticed Sammy's whole demeanor change – as if finally coming to a conclusion and then finally… resignation. The bad feeling that had been building in the pit of his stomach since this whole ordeal began suddenly intensified until he wasn't sure how he was still able to breathe. It wasn't until he saw the strain in his brother's body and the uncertainty in the demon's face that he fully understood that whatever was about to happen was bad – very, very bad.

"Sammy? Stop Buddy… you hear me? Stop!" he yelled, his voice mingling with John's to echo in terror throughout the cabin.

Whatever he had been expecting though wasn't anything compared to actually watching his baby brother struggle off the couch and lunge at the very thing they were trying to keep him safe from. His screams reached a crescendo as he saw the shock in both the demon and Sammy's faces before their yells echoed his as a bright light exploded through the room, pulling the demon out of the possessed man and sending Sammy unconscious to the floor.

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Bobby could see that it wouldn't take much to get Caleb out from under the vehicle seeing as it was mostly resting on an uprooted tree, the trick was to get the hunter out from under it without doing any more damage though.

"Wait before you do anything Bobby." Jim said warily. He had stopped and was looking around them before showing his fingers. "Sulfur." He stated plainly before digging a container from his bag.

As Bobby watched Jim splash everything with holy water, he began checking Caleb for injuries and other than a severe whack on the head and few scrapes and bruises he felt that the younger man was extremely lucky. Looking up, he smiled at the sight of the former priest performing a banishing rite on the area. He knew that most people, even hunters, would have thought that was overkill, but he'd known the man for far too long to question him. Seeing his friend finishing up, he prepared to pull Caleb away from the wreckage when he heard a groan and saw startled eyes fly open.

"Whoa there, calm down man." Bobby said while trying to hold down the hunter and keep an eye on Jim as he finished the rite. What came out of the younger man's mouth though stopped him dead.

"Sammy… Bobby… we have to save him."

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Caleb walked away from the woman, trying his best to ignore her taunts. It was bad enough that he had no clue as to what was going on, but her intermittent appearance when he started to feel like he was making progress was really starting to tick him off.

"Give it up Caleb… you know you want answers, and you know I have them. All you have to do is stop and talk to me."

Rolling his eyes Caleb was ready to lay into her until he heard something, and by the woman's reaction told him that wasn't supposed to happen. Turning to her he smiled.

"Well, it looks like we're not alone, are we sweetheart?"

Tara looked around, not sure what could have gone wrong, but knowing that somehow her actions had been breached. Growling, she was about to amp up her illusion when she jerked back. Surprised, she was unsure what was happening until she started to flicker. 'This isn't possible.' She thought, 'There's no way they could have found him this fast, and they still wouldn't know I'm here.'

Smiling, Caleb watched the woman flicker and he knew suddenly what his grandmother was talking about. "I think it's time for you to get lost sweetheart." He said happily as she finally disappeared out of sight. Looking around, he wondered once again where he was and how he could get himself out.

"Caleb?"

Turning around, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Sammy? What the…? Are you alright little man?"

Sammy allowed his friend to hug him close before he started to push away. "Caleb. Something happened. I don't know where I am, and my brothers… I don't know if they're ok. You have to help them… please!"

Listening to the boy's plea, Caleb nodded his head frantically. Something told him that the kid's psychic power is what happened and he could only pray that the remaining Winchester's were alright. Before he could say anything though, Sammy looked away.

"I…I did something Caleb. The man with yellow eyes… he was going to kill them… I couldn't let John and Dean get killed. You'll help them; make sure they're alright… right?" Sammy pleaded. "You have to make sure they're alright!"

"Yeah kiddo, I'll make sure. How about you though… how are you?" Caleb knew it was stupid to ask, after all if the kid was there with him _talking_, then something heavy occurred and he couldn't help but be afraid for the boy.

Shaking his head, Sammy conveyed what they both knew… he didn't know. "_Please_." He pleaded once again before fading out, leaving one last gift behind – the cabin's location.

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Dean couldn't see anything because the tears were blinding him. He heard John frantically get rid of the body that had obviously been deceased for quite awhile now, but he couldn't bring himself to help; his only concern being his little brother. He held Sammy in his arms and rocked him constantly, hoping, praying that his baby brother would come back, not believing that everything they had gone through was worth this. No, this price was too high. Sure, he knew that Sammy had been fading, and that one day they'd be at this point… but that was sometime in the future – not now!

Looking down, he made sure Sammy was warm and that he wasn't staring into the lamp light. The gentle breaths escaped the young mouth and brushed his cheek, giving Dean the assurance he needed to know that all wasn't lost. No matter what, he wasn't going to give up on Sammy – ever.

"How is he?" John asked as he walked back into the cabin. He hadn't wanted to leave even for a moment, but he had needed to get rid of the body, the evidence as much as possible that something had happened. Now that he was back inside though, he had to fight the urge to run. His baby brother had pushed himself so much that he was now catatonic and not even Dean's urging was bringing him out of it.

Shaking his head, Dean didn't answer. It was obvious how Sammy was, why couldn't John just leave him alone about it? Ever since they saw what Sammy did to save them, he had been worried that this was going to be the time he wouldn't be able to bring their little brother back from the darkness- that this time he was truly lost to them. If he was going to keep any faith at all that this is only temporary, then he couldn't sit there and talk about it.

John nodded and stoked the fireplace, wanting to keep the chill out as much as possible. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his little brothers and wondered just how badly he failed them both. Dean looked like he could snap at a strong breeze, while Sammy wasn't there anymore – or if not gone, then hidden so deeply that he had no idea how they would ever get him back.

"We need to get some sleep. After that we can decide what we're going to do, ok?" he said calmly, hoping he sounded more like dad than some jerk who didn't care. Sitting down next to Dean, he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Dean, get some sleep. We'll deal with everything in the morning."

Dean had been happy to stay next to Sammy until the end of the world, but hearing their big brother talk as if Sammy was something to be dealt with, something snapped. "Deal? What do you mean 'deal' big brother? You going to make some sort of To Do list and start checking things off? Where does Sammy fit in, huh? Let me guess… right between 'Find a Good Home' and 'Go Back to School'?" Seeing the shock on John's face he laughed sardonically. "Yeah, I kinda figured… you've just been waiting until you could just dump us off and go back to your other life. Well don't do us any favors; you can leave any damn time you want. Me and Sammy'll be just fine!"


	14. Chapter 14

AU: I am so very sorry about the wait, I hope that this will make up for it (even though it's not very long). I'll try to update soon... real life is kicking my behind though. Take care!

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John stared in shock at his little brother, not believing that that was what Dean thought of him; but then again, it shouldn't have been any real surprise. Sighing, he had known this was going to happen, but he had tried so hard to ignore it. This needed to be dealt with now, before anything else popped up and threatened their remaining family.

"Dean, I'm not leaving. I want you, me and Sammy to stick together… why do you think I was doing everything I could to do what Judge Anderson wanted? It wasn't so I could pawn you or Sammy off on anyone; it was so no matter what we were together."

Dean gave a snort of disbelief before he turned his attention back to Sammy. He didn't know why he was so mad at John, and he didn't know if he believed him, but he did know that right now he couldn't take care of Sammy by himself – no matter what he said. There would be times that he'd have to go find food, and he wouldn't be able to take his brother with him, but wouldn't be able to leave him by himself either.

"Look kiddo, things will be better tomorrow. Right now we're both about to explode and that's not going to help our baby brother at all. So how about we forget this conversation for now and deal with later, when we're both feeling better." John said as he found a blanket and placed it on the couch. He knew that Dean would want Sammy as close to the fire as possible without putting the kid on the floor, and he couldn't agree more – too much had already happened for him not to realize the importance of that one little act.

It didn't take any time at all to get Dean and Sammy situated on the couch and John comfortable on the floor by their side, it took even less time for the older brothers to see that their ministrations had at least a small effect on their baby brother as they watched him close his eyes and fall asleep.

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As Tara stood and looked around, she could feel her new body move just as she liked – with a fluid grace that most people only dreamed of. She hadn't planned on picking this one, but something called out to her, most likely it was the innocence the young woman exuded; so much easier to get what she wanted if people didn't expect her manipulations.

Smiling, she danced around in a circle, once again enjoying the feel of the body's movements and gathered her plan closer while schooling her features to one of pure guilelessness. Her mark was close by; all she needed to do was lure him in before setting the trap she knew would bring the Winchesters to their knees.

Quickly adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder, she hurried inside the darkened establishment allowing her eyes to dart around like the skittish girl she was portraying. It didn't take long before others noticed her, but it was one that she set her sights on and smiled inwardly when her efforts were rewarded when he slowly made his way to her.

"Darlin' I'm pretty sure you're in the wrong place." He drawled; his rough voice and scarred face belying his gentle words.

"Ummm… no, I don't think so." Tara said nervously while looking around as if the people in the room were going to jump out at her. Although if they knew what she really was, she knew that's exactly what would have happened. "I was told I could find a Mr. Mackenzie Lane here."

Suspicion clouded the man's face as he looked over the tiny woman in front of him. He was never one for coincidence, and today was no exception. "Cristo." He hissed under his breath and wasn't surprised when he saw the violet eyes turn black. "Sweetheart, you really wandered into the wrong place." Mac Lane sneered menacingly as he grabbed hold of the arm of the young lady, knowing that there was possibly an innocent trapped somewhere in there.

Tara smiled, knowing that she got everyone's attention. "Fine, you found me out, but you can't blame a girl for trying… and before you ask, yes… I'm a girl. Now, how about we get back to business." She said before she turned and looked at one of the other patrons in the bar. "You really don't want to do that, because I can do a lot of damage in here before you finish with that little exorcism of yours… that, and I'll be back out of the pit before it's time for breakfast." Seeing their shocked expressions her smile widened. "Ah, I see I have your attention… good. I have a message to deliver and I was told that only you would do Mackenzie Lane. Little Sammy Winchester is making a name for himself down below and it's making some of my kind very nervous."

Mac looked at the girl before him before smirking. "Yeah, and? The kid's young, but he was born into this life so I'm not surprised he's making waves. Maybe you should find someone who cares if your friends are 'nervous'."

Laughing, Tara shook her head. "No honey… not nervous as in 'oh no the big bad hunter is coming to town', more like nervous as in 'oh crap the kid is ready to take over'. Think on that awhile." She said before she released the host, her blackness blanketing the ceiling for a moment as she watched the hunters below her mull over her parting words, her only regret was not being able to watch what she caused.

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Caleb wasn't in a good mood and he didn't care if anyone knew about it. He felt like he'd just been screwed in the head by a demon and what do you know… he had! Between that and wrecking his car, he felt that he was entitled to be a bit moody – that and the knowledge that Sammy was in more trouble than they thought. He didn't know how he knew, just that something was bothering him about the little bitch's visit had him sure that there was more to it than what she had let on.

"Calm down, we're almost there." Bobby growled as he tried to ignore Caleb's fidgeting. He was worried too, but he knew that they wouldn't be able to do anything if they all were in a ditch somewhere.

As Jim listened to both Bobby and Caleb, he knew that they needed to get to the boys fast if for no other reason than to save the men next to him from coming to blows with each other. His patience was already worn thin, but he also knew that it wasn't going to help matters any if he actually jumped into the fray of the argument he knew was brewing in the truck.

"Look, I know you don't believe me but something's wrong." Caleb said tightly as he pointed to the last turn, knowing that it wouldn't be too much longer before they got there and it wasn't going to be a moment too soon.

The cab of the truck was quiet, the tension building ever since that last turn and none of the occupants dared to think of what they would find. It was bad enough that the boys had felt they had to go into hiding, but to think that Sammy was hurt in some way was tearing them all apart. Finally seeing the small cabin, Bobby forced himself to stay calm. They had no idea what they were walking into and they all needed to stay calm, at least until they saw for themselves what was actually happening.

As the truck came to a stop, Caleb climbed over Jim to get out and stumbled his was towards the cabin door, knowing that both Jim and Bobby had already caught up with him and were just as anxious to see the boys as he was. Not bothering to knock, he pushed open the door and the three men stepped just inside the doorway and stopped suddenly, horrified at the meaning behind what they saw.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Ok, so we've reached the end of another one... but don't panic... I've already named the sequel... In the light of the day... hope to see you there. ;)

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Dawn had broken to a clear day, not that it mattered to the occupants of the small cabin. While the youngest one slept through the night with the occasional movement and moan, the other two had tried to sleep only to find it elusive until they both realized that they were more tired from trying to sleep and they were better off getting up and starting the day. Each one set out to accomplish a task, neither one moving too far from their young charge. It wasn't until they both saw a pair of eyes open to successfully stare blankly at the mantle over the fireplace that they both new that while it was a new day, their nightmare was still in full swing.

"Sammy, how about some coffee this morning?" John asked as he poured some of the hot liquid into a ceramic mug he'd found and washed earlier. He remembered how his baby brother always wanted whatever he was drinking and often would find creative ways to get some. It had often been annoying then, but now he'd give anything for their Sammy to give even the slightest of nods to let them know he was still there.

Dean knew what John was up to and had to agree silently that if anything was going to snap Sammy out of it, it would be the change to be one of the big guys. Seeing no change though made him let out a heavy breath before he began to find his little brother's clothes in hopes that an effort at normal would help him to feel more comfortable at least.

Somehow between the two of them, John and Dean had managed to get a small amount of coffee down their brother and dressed before he once again drifted off to sleep, making the remaining Winchesters worry even more.

"What do you think happened?" Dean asked John, hoping that at least one of them had figured out by now why their little brother still wasn't responding to them.

Shaking his head, John had to admit that he didn't really have a clue. Sure, he had some theories, but they were more than a little farfetched and even the ones that weren't had been proven false just by the fact that Sammy was still alive. No, at the moment he really didn't have an idea about what happened or what he should be looking for. Right now he could only hope and pray that he didn't mess up either of his brothers more than what he had already.

As Dean took up his spot on the couch with Sammy, trying to coax the younger boy awake, John was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a large engine bearing down on their location. He knew he didn't need to tell Dean, that the kid had already heard it himself and probably had an idea of who it was just by the sounds it was making, but their parents had taught them not to take things for granted, to assume that someone is a friend is asking to get hurt. Sparing a glance at his brothers, he was happy to see Sammy tracking his movements, if only slightly – it wasn't much, but it was more than what they had before.

Dean saw how John seemed to lighten up when he looked at Sammy and he had to wonder why he ever thought their big brother was going to leave them behind. Now though wasn't the time to think about it, now was the time to prepare for whoever or whatever it was that had found them. He knew what Bobby's truck sounded like, but that was the problem… Bobby didn't know where they were. Giving Sammy another half hug, he tucked his brother behind him as much as possible and turned to aim his gun at the door. If they were friends they'd be forgiven for this, if they were enemies, they'd be dead before they hit the ground.

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Mackenzie sat in his Land Cruiser and thought about the conversation he just had. It had been very enlightening if true, but that was the problem, you couldn't trust demons. Now he had a decision to make; either believe that little Sammy Winchester was next in line to lead an armada from hell, or chalk all this up to a very bad joke and hope to run into the bitch that started the rumor in the first place.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned his head back and reached for his med kit that he always kept close in case of a sudden migraine. Now though all he wanted was a little stress relief and the time to sort the good information from the lousy intel. However that just made him feel worse because the more he found out about the Winchester's, the more he was inclined to believe the demoness who somehow had a direct line out of hell.

He'd spent all night finding another source and then another to try and deny what he had been told at the bar, only to find unanimous agreement – Sammy Winchester was one of those freaks… Sammy Winchester had to die.

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Bobby was the first one to recover from the sight of two guns pointing straight as him and the others. "What the hell boy? First you want our help, then you try to shoot us for it?" he snapped out, noticing that his words were more than a little wobbly due to the sight of Dean trying to keep Sammy's blank stare hidden but failing miserably. "Damn it."

"Sorry Bobby, but we can't be too careful… not after what happened earlier." John stated with a shrug as he motioned around the room to the obvious disarray of furniture.

Jim rushed to Sammy and began to look the boy over in hopes of snapping the boy out of his stupor. "How long has he been like this?"

Dean pulled the blanket up a bit further and gently removed his brother's face from the older man's hand. "Since last night. The… the demon was here and…"

"and Sammy saved our asses. He's been like that ever since, although we think he's starting to come out of it." Seeing the others questioning glances, John shrugged, "Not sure how he did it exactly, but it wasn't pleasant, that's for sure."

Nodding, Bobby and Caleb both agreed that Sammy had to have tapped into his deepest reserves to dispatch the demon, and with that much power there was always a price to pay.

"Alright, I think it's time to get all of you back home, anything else can wait." Jim said as he reached down to pick up the youngest among them, only to be stopped by Dean.

"Sorry Jim, but I don't think we're going back." John said firmly, catching on to what his little brother was trying to do. "We can't go back there and still stay together, or at least not while the people who sold themselves to that demon is still around. Dean, why don't you go warm up the Impala and make a bed for our little brother?"

Shocked, the older hunters watched Dean obey his brother's request and wondered just what they had missed. Caleb didn't like where this was going and made his unease known. "Look kid, I know you think you can face what's out there, but you're forgetting that we're here and we're not going anywhere."

John smiled and walked towards the couch before he picked up Sammy's journal and placed it in his lap. "Hey little brother, nice to see you back with us. How are you feeling?" Seeing his little brother blink slowly, he smiled. "Yeah, alright… you're not sure yet." He continued to ignore the others while Sammy began to sketch out something on a blank page of his journal. This was something that he and Dean had wondered about, if Sammy would stay in his silent world and continue to deteriorate even once the evil that caused it was gone. Now it looked like it was slowly being reversed, and that was something he and Dean could live with. Seeing that Sammy was done and worn out in the effort to get his message across, John stroked his brother's hair until he slipped slowly back to sleep before he pulled the journal from under the smaller boy's hands and sighed heavily as he looked at the message drawn on the page. "Looks like someone's been talking."

Confused, the others looked at the page and saw it was divided into two drawings. The first was of a possessed woman talking to a hunter in a roadhouse, the second was the same man holding a gun on both John and Dean while Sammy lay bleeding off to the side. Confusion gave way to concern as each hunter knew what it meant; this was just the beginning and now they had a whole other complication – hunters were involved.

"If you want to help, then get out there and do damage control. Dean and I can take care of Sammy as long as we know there aren't any vigilantes out there. Mom and Dad always knew that this was a possibility, that some people wouldn't see Sammy's abilities as gifts." John watched the door as Dean walked back in and nodded that everything was ready. Picking up his baby brother, he took the time to whisper assurances in his ear before turning back to their friends. "A moving target is harder to catch, so that's what we're going to do. You take care of the misinformation that's being spread, and we'll take care of Sammy."

None of the other men liked it, but they also knew that there was no way they were going to be able to stop them… not without using actual force. Sighing, Bobby stepped to the side and nodded while the others still battled inwardly at what they were thinking was a betrayal to their friends' memories.

At the doorway, both John and Dean turned, "We'll be in touch, don't worry," Dean said before following his brothers out the door and back into the Impala. It didn't take long to get Sammy settled and the car heading back the way they came, the sounds of Led Zeppelin's Ramble On playing through the stereo, leaving their friends to wonder if they hadn't just made the biggest mistake of their lives letting the younger Winchester's to leave.

"Damn fool idjits," Bobby murmured while at the same time the others swore they'd do whatever was needed to make sure no one turned the boys into the hunted.

"Come on, we got work to do."


End file.
